Return to the Beginning
by TheWeepingRaven
Summary: When Rick Grimes dies, he thought that was it. Until he woke up alive and well. With a redo of the apocalypse, Rick is going to change what he can and keep his people, his family, alive to the best of his abilities. He can only hope that it will go to plan this time. With a little luck on his side, he may find allies that remember too.
1. Day 2895

**Day 2895**

**Season Nine: Episode Five**

**(What Comes After)**

Rick gasped for breath as he was flung backwards from the explosion that the dynamite had released, tossed backwards like a toy a child no longer wanted. His breath rasped as he inhaled and exhaled slowly. Every breath felt like a burning hot rod was stabbing him through his chest and side. His hands lightly shook, as his right hand pressed into the wound from the rebar he had fallen upon earlier in the day. His blood was a steady stream as it oozed out of the gaping wound. His other hand loosely held onto his Colt Python. It had been with him since the beginning of this hell.

"Rick!"

There was a familiar voice calling out his name. He could recognize that voice from anywhere. "Daryl..." he mouthed the words, his tongue heavy and dry in his mouth. His eyesight unfocused and blurred as he attempted to look around at his surroundings in a daze. The sound of the horde of Walkers was a distant concern, now that the bridge was destroyed and burning from the dynamite.

His ears still rang from the deafening explosion. His senses were coming in and out of focus with each slow hoarse breath he inhaled and exhaled. It felt a lot like how his consciousness had been on the way to the bridge. He realized now, that his apparitions had been merely hallucinations. It had been his mind attempting to keep him moving, to get him to the bridge and his family, just one last time. The sudden clarity of what he had done and what was happening to him, hit him with a suddenness that made his head swim.

"Rick!"

That voice called out to him again. Brilliant blue eyes looked to his left when the sudden presence of another at his side took his notice. "Daryl," he murmured, a soft smile curled his lips upward at the other man. Daryl, he loved that man. They were two sides of the same coin. Daryl was the love of his life and his best friend. He had loved Lori once, there was no doubts about that, but Daryl, he was Rick's soulmate. He couldn't, and honestly didn't want to, live in a world without Daryl by his side. He didn't want to have to imagine it. His heart broke in his chest as he realized, that while he didn't have to live in a world without Daryl, his hunter would have to live in a world without him.

Tears burned Rick's eyes as he connected with beautiful glassy green. There was a sheen of water in those eyes, making the beautiful green eyes sparkle in the sunlight. "Hey, it's okay," Rick murmured gently. Tears were beginning to blur his eyesight, distorting his vision further then it already was. The blue eyed man blinked rapidly as he tried to force the tears at bay, but lost the fight as tears glided rapidly down his cheeks. Rick gazed up at the man he loved with all his heart. "It's okay," he said in a soft voice. His eyes burned as he tried to reassure Daryl, even as more tears fell from the green eyes he adored so much.

Daryl choked out a sob, as his hands softly brushed Rick's short curly graying hair from his cheek. He knew, as he looked down at the man he loved so fiercely and completely, that he wouldn't survive this time. Daryl could hear it with each wheezing breath and cough that he made. He could see it in his blood stained hand and the coldness that was taking over him. He could see it in Rick's eyes, that Rick knew it too. "It's okay," he agreed with a sorrowful and grief-stricken expression.

"I...I did it," he murmured with a half hearted chuckle. His eyes closed for a moment, before a fierce blinking of his eyelashes, those beautiful blue eyes opened again. "It wasn't going to break," he muttered in exhaustion. "It was...it was gonna hold," his bloodied hand rose and lightly touched Daryl's cheek. His hand raised and gripped Rick's bloodied hand tightly in his. He held it against his cheek, uncaring of the blood staining his. He didn't care that the others watched on in grief and silence, as the couple had their last moment together. "I...I...couldn' le' it. I 'ad ta'...I 'ad ta' stop it," he mumbled incoherently.

The group that stood around Daryl and Rick, consisted of Michonne, Maggie, Riley, Carol, Eugene, Jesus, and numerous others, all shared a look between one another. There was a sudden understanding that graced their faces as they suddenly realized what he had done for them. He had been willing to sacrifice himself, to save them and the Hilltop. Rick was always willing to do what was needed. Even if it meant his death or injury in the end. It was one thing about Rick that they all knew, it was that he rarely considered his health when it came to doing what was needed.

The group stood back and watched with grief and sorrow. Michonne is held by Riley as she weeps. The older woman sheds tears as she knows that she is losing her best friend and brother. Riley fought the battle against his own tears. He was once again losing another member of his family. Maggie, Carol, and the others all silently shed tears of despair as another member they loved and cared about is being lost to them.

"I love you," Rick whispered while he remained in eye contact with Daryl. They never said it often enough, he realized abruptly. They always had something else to say, about everything else they had to do to survive, but never about them. He could feel it in his aching and throbbing body that he didn't have much longer, but he wanted Daryl to know it. He wanted those he considered his family to know it. "I love this family...every one of you," he muttered aloud to the other's.

"I love you too," Daryl rasped out. His right hand gently traced Rick's cheek. His left hand still gripped Rick's other hand against his cheek as his eyes squeezed shut for a moment. In that small moment, Daryl's heart was breaking as green eyes opened once again to stare down into brilliant blue eyes.

Michonne collapsed beside Rick and gently gripped his other hand that held the Colt Python. Riley crouched beside her as he sadly looked down at the man he had considered a father. "We love you too Rick," Michonne whispered with tears thick in her voice.

A smile curled his lips at hearing their words. During his hallucinations, he had gotten to say goodbye to his loved ones. He had finally been able to get some closure with saying goodbye to Shane and Lori. He was able to apologize to Evie and Jeffrey, his younger siblings that he hadn't been able to save. He was able to say goodbye one last time to Carl. To apologize to him too for not saving him and being there for him when he should have been.

There was so many more people that he wished he could have saved. He wished he could have saved Glenn, Abraham, Hershel, Tyrese, Lori, Jeffrey, Evie, Patricia, Shane, Merle, Andrea, Sasha, Beth, Sophia, Amy, Duane, Sophia, and so many others. If he was just given that chance, he'd change everything so those he loved and cared for had a safe place to live and thrive.

If he had known what he knew now when he first awoke in that hospital, he would have done things differently. He would have grabbed the supplies he could have from the hospital. He would have grabbed the other supplies from the town. He would have done so many things differently, if he merely had the opportunity.

Rick's eyesight began to darken as the world seemed to close in around him. The frantic and grief stricken voices of those he was leaving behind echoed through the air, but they were a mere distant echo to Rick.

As Rick's hand went limp in Daryl's, his breathing finally stopped, and his chest went still.


	2. T-Minus 91 Days Until Outbreak

**T-Minus 91 Days Until Outbreak**

Rick inhaled and exhaled violently, a hoarse ragged cough escaped from his throat as red flared beneath his closed eyelids. His throat and chest felt tight, finding it difficult to catch his breath. His chest tightened with each forceful breath as he attempted to calm his breathless coughing fit. Eyes of a bright blue flung open forcefully, as those brilliant eyes roved quickly around to scan the room he had awoken in. His mind was flashing with memories of things that shouldn't be possible.

Gnarly, hungry dead eyes with a horrid smell of rotting death surrounding those dead things. Their growls and moans of hunger echoed in his mind. The screams and cries of innocent and corrupt both, as they were devoured by those things rang in his ears. "Walkers," Rick murmured, as the name came to him in an abrupt flash of sudden insight.

He had _died_. His hand pressed down to the unbroken skin at his right side, just a couple inches above his hip, near the bottom of his ribcage. Rick could still recall the warm blood, the coppery scent of it, as it oozed steadily out of the hole in his side. Another mental conception flashed in his mind, at the realization. "I died…" he muttered, his sharp blue eyes scanned the room again. He had awoken in a room that he barely recognized. It was dark inside the room, a gloomy kind of blackness that encased everything, but not like when he had died. Before he had died, the world had contained pitch black shadows without a flashlight or candle. This darkness was a near shadowy blackness like one would find in the sunlight.

There was a dim streak of yellowish colored light coming from the drapes, that allowed him to see the shadowy outlines of a dresser, the door to what could be the bathroom or closet, and a long wooden chest at the foot of the bed. Rick finally concentrated on the occupant he had felt beside him on the bed, and paused in shock at who he saw. From the dim lighting, he could recognize the the soft naked curves of a woman. It has been a long half decade since he had slept with one, but he could still recognize the shape of a woman without clothes on. The figure sleeping beside him had long silky brown locks covering the pillow beneath her head like a halo. The pale face he was staring at in shock, he hadn't seen in nearly six years, not since her death.

"Lori…" he muttered in surprise. His eyes scanned her figure slowly, noticing all the little nuances he had forgotten about. In the time since her death, he had been able to make room in his heart for another to love. However, the love he felt for Daryl was completely different to what he felt for Lori. He loved his wife, and he always would. But after her affair with Shane during his coma and the trouble it had caused them, he hadn't been able to handle being near her. His love for the mother of his children and best friend, was always going to have a piece of his heart. However, his heart was big enough to love others.

"What the fuck is going on?" Rick asked aloud in a harsh whisper as he tried to figure out why he was staring at his dead wife. Or rather, the person who had once been his dead wife. He shouldn't be seeing her alive and well. He shouldn't be breathing right now either. Being in a room he hasn't seen in eight years, he didn't know how all this was possible. He had died, he knew this without a doubt. What he had experienced, that had not been a hallucination, and he was very familiar with hallucinations by now. With what he had gone through, that had been no dream or hallucination, it had been real as he was now.

_So why am I waking up beside my wife?_ He deliberated as he looked around the room. He could only assume that he was in his old house, before the apocalypse business happened, if he was in bed beside Lori. It had been a long time since he had laid in a bed beside her. As much as he missed Lori, he missed Daryl too. His heart and chest ached at the thought of his hunter. He could only hope that he would get to see his partner again soon. At thought of his spouse, his thoughts were bouncing back and forth at the realization that he was back in the beginning.

_Did anyone else know what was going to happen? Or was it just him?_ The ruminations ran through his mind in a whirlwind. _What was even the date?_ At that musing, Rick slipped out of the bed. It was an odd sensation, feeling such warm and soft bedding against his skin. It had been a rare occurrence to find something like that before he died.

Rick looked to the nightstand beside the bed and grabbed the rectangular shaped cell phone on the nightstand. He stared at the IPhone, it's been a long time since he'd held a phone. He clicked the circular button on the bottom of the cell phone, and squinted against the bright light. Blinking rapidly, he waited for the spots dancing across his eyesight to dissipate, before he stared at the date in shock: Friday, March 5th.

That was nearly three months before the outbreak began to grow global, he realized. Rick's mind ran with the possibilities. With that much time, perhaps he could become better prepared for the outbreak. With this preparation time, he'd be able to accumulate quite a bit of supplies and perhaps even build a safe location for everyone to live. _How long would it really be safe for? _He wondered to himself. _Was there really such a thing as safe in the apocalypse with the Walking Dead? _From his experience the sense of safety never lasted long. Something or someone always threatened that safety, because they wanted it or because the Walkers became herds.

_So how am I going to be able to save them and keep them safe?_ Rick wondered again as he sat carefully on the side of the bed. It's not like it was just those he considered family he had to worry about saving, it was also his family's relatives he had to worry about. From what he remembered, his family had siblings, parents, nieces and nephews, in-laws, and cousins that they had lost during the apocalypse. Would he be able to save them too somehow? He had no idea how, unless those individuals knew what was going to happen.

_Maybe I can save others too, people that have jobs that we could benefit from after the apocalypse, _Rick thought over the various people that could have uses. There was electricians, if he got a hold of solar panels. There was hunters, doctors and nurses, engineers, construction workers, plumbers, scientists, teachers, dentists, and soldiers, among numerous others. He'd save those he could, even if they didn't have usefulness. It was just who he was. He didn't trust people, as they were the worst sorts after the world essentially ended, but he knew there was still some good people.

Rick rubbed his temples in irritation. He would have to find something to write in to come up with a plan for what he should do. As well as writing down the names of everyone he could recall over the last eight years he had endured the apocalypse. He would go from hoped there was others that remembered, otherwise it would be a hell of a lot harder to make anyone believe him.

He shivered suddenly as a cold brush of air grazed his naked skin. Rick nearly startled as the loud sound of the air conditioner turning on dragged him from his thoughts. He wasn't used to the sounds of electricity anymore, having been away from it for so long. He had been so consumed with his contemplating, that he had forgotten he was buck ass naked and not alone. He had to stop being so careless. While it was safe now, it wouldn't always be so.

Bright blue eyes turned back to look at Lori and her currently flat stomach. "Hmm," he hummed in thought as he assessed the cogitations running through his mind. "Judith should be born near the end of the year," Rick muttered as he continued to look down at Lori. "Unless she was born early," he added to himself. Did Lori become pregnant now? They had just spent a night together, and not just once either, if his recollection of that time was to go on. It would fit the timeline. From what he could recall, it was around the third month into the first year of the apocalypse that Lori had discovered she was pregnant, and she had given birth a good six, nearly seven months later. Which would relate to their time having sex the previous night. Though he had honestly forgotten they had in his original timeline.

Considering the next day, later today actually, Rick suddenly realized, as it was a day one didn't forget, he had been shot. Then he had been put in a medically induced coma, before slipping into an actual coma for a few months. He remembered discussing this with Lori during the first few nights after finding them again. It's odd knowing that he had been in a coma for about months during the beginning of the apocalypse, and for two weeks following the outbreak.

Rick wondered if Lori had been one of those woman who just hadn't realized she was pregnant? With the stress of him being shot, falling into a coma, and then the apocalypse happening, could she have just not realized? Rick gave an irritated groan as his head throbbed. This was getting him nowhere, and he definitely didn't want to consider that maybe Shane and Lori had been sleeping together behind his back before the apocalypse. Especially considering he and Shane's past together. An affair was not something he wanted to add to his growing list of things to worry about.

Silently, Rick stood from the bed and picked up a carelessly tossed pair of boxer briefs from the floor. He quietly pulled them on, followed by a pair of sweatpants and t-shirt, before making his way carefully out of the bedroom. "Dad," the voice of Carl startled Rick as he was gently shutting the bedroom door. Turning around, the Sheriff deputy looked at his son with surprise.

"Carl," he murmured with awe. Blue eyes scanned over his son with amazement. It had been a good two years since he had last seen his son. The figure he was looking at was not the eighteen-year-old he remembered, but the twelve-year-old he had been at the beginning of the apocalypse. It was disheartening and thrilling in equal measures, to see his son, but to see the differences and toll the apocalypse had done to his child, was staggering. Rick reached out and pulled him into a hug. Feeling the warmth and heartbeat of his son, his boy that he had lost to a bite. "God Carl," Rick shed tears as he gripped his son tight. His forehead rested upon his son's head, as Carl's face rested against his father's chest.

Carl cried tears of grief, sadness, relief, and so many other conflicting emotions at seeing his father again. The last thing he remembered, was putting a bullet in his head after saying goodbye to his father, Daryl, and Michonne. He had gotten to say his goodbyes to everyone else before hand, but the three most important to him, he got his goodbyes longer. Seeing his father again, after what should have been the last time, was amazing.

"It wasn't a nightmare was is it," Carl muttered rhetorically into his father's shirt. "What we experienced...it really happened," he said with teary blue eyes as he pulled away from his father. Curled fist loosened from Rick's shirt, while his dad's hands gripped Carl's shoulder firmly.

A sinking feeling settled in the pit of Rick's stomach at his sons words. If there was one thing he wished, it was that Carl didn't have to remember what they went through. At the same time, he was glad his son remembered. He'd have an easier time surviving the outbreak when it happened. With Carl's death, Rick had realize that he hadn't been there for him as much as he should of, and that thought burned at him. To realize he had caused such a distance between them. It was going to change, if this was his second time around, he was going to be there for his son. "Come of Carl, let's head downstairs so we don't wake your mom up," Rick muttered with a firm but gentle arm curled around his sons shoulders and tucking him into his side.

Quietly, the father and son duo walked slowly down the wooden and creaky staircase in a companionable silence. They walked into the kitchen together and Rick flipped the light switch on. It still surprised him that it worked, but he could hear the hum of electricity in the air. It was amazing what years away from the ability to have electricity could do to one's sense. The sounds of all the appliances that ran of gas and electricity was so loud. "What are we going to do dad?" Carl asked his father.

Rick searched the cabinets for where the cups were. It had been too long since he'd been in this house and not knowing where anything was, was going to cause a problem. "I have some ideas Carl," Rick began slowly. Carl watched his father as he searched the cupboards. It had been a while since they had been here, he couldn't recall most of anything was either. "I'm thinkin' that if we both remember, then maybe your mom will too," he said and forcefully shut the cupboard door that appeared to contain plates and ceramic bowls. Rick reached the next cupboard and sighed in relief when he found the cups. Pulling out two, he set them of the counter and walked over to the fridge. A cool rush of air hit his face, distracting Rick for a moment at the realization that they still had electricity. Reaching inside, he grabbed the bottle of orange juice and set it of the counter beside the glasses.

"Dad...I'm so sorry, for the way I treated you," Carl whispered in a shaky tone voice. As if he could split apart at the seams at any given moment. His blue eyes burned and his eyesight blurred with tears again when he looked across the counter at his father. His mind went through all the ways he had treated him. He had blamed his father for everything, and that blame had turned to resentment, anger, and at times hate. He had blamed him for having to kill Shane (even though he could now see Shane had been a danger to everyone), for abandoning his mother (even though he now had a better understanding of why his father rarely went around her), for taking care of their family and concentrating on their survival more than him. Those were just the things he could think from the top of his head. He knew there was more reasons why he had been angry at his dad, but thinking back on them, he realizes now that his father had been an easy target to take his anger out on.

Tears slid slowly down Carl's cheeks again as a sob escaped from chapped lips. Small shoulders shook with his cries as he fully began to comprehend everything that had happened and was going to happen.

Rick quickly made the few steps it took to reach his son and pulled him into a tight hug again. Carl's hands raised to grip the back of his fathers shirt, trying to keep it together, even as he fell apart. It had been a long time since he'd allowed himself to cry, and in the comfort of his father's arms once again, he did just that. Rick didn't try to console him with false platitudes, as those were pointless. But he did hold his son, his strong presence reminding Carl that no matter what, his father would be there for him and forgive him.

_Thump. Thump. Thud. _

Carl and Rick's attention turned to the ceiling, where the noise gave from. The sound of footsteps and a bedroom door closing made them realize that Lori must have awoken. "Rick? Carl?" Lori called out with a note of alarm. Her footsteps began to make their way down the staircase in a study rythmic thumping sound. Rick's eyes turned to the glowing green lights of the kitchen oven: 5:27.

"In the kitchen!" Rick called back as Lori's footsteps sounded closer until she appeared in the kitchen doorway. Her beautiful brown eyes looked between the pair, tears could be clearly seen when she laid eyes upon the pair.

"Was it a nightmare?" Lori asked Rick with her full attention on him.

The question gave him pause. _That answers my question_, Rick mused to himself. "Was what a nightmare?" Rick asked cautiously. Carl appeared too shocked to rely to his mother, as he stared at her, taking in her being alive. The last time he had seen his mom, he had to put a bullet in her skull, after she bled out from Judith's birth, before she had the chance to change into a Walker.

"The Walkers," Lori replied, with eyes blurring from tears. "The coma you were in after getting shot and my...affair...that I had with Shane when I thought you were dead," she continued with an awkward expression on her face. The thought of her affair with Shane made her feel regret, disgust, and anger at herself for being so weak. She had thought her husband dead, and while that didn't excuse her for seeking comfort in her husband's best friend, it was truth. She would never cheat on Rick, she loved him, but it had happened in her moment of weakness. "Our attempt to find a save place, my dying for our daughter," Lori choked out, tears finally escaped and rapidly slid down pale cheeks at the thought. She had never gotten to know her baby girl, and the thought killed her.

Rick could never stand the thought of seeing Lori cry. Reaching out with one arm, Lori quickly walked into his. Together, the small family held each other. Lori lovingly running her right hand through her sons hair, while the other gripped the back of Rick's shoulder blades shirt. "Mom," Carl whispered as he held tightly onto his mother. His hands were curled into tight fist as he held onto her nightshirt. Lori's head rested of Rick's shoulder as the family gathered their bearings.

_Ding Dong. Ding Dong. Ding Dong._

The Grimes family startled at the noise of the doorbell ringing. Slowly, Rick, Lori, and Carl pulled away from each other and looked towards the kitchen doorway that led to the dining room, living room, and front door. They small trio shared a look, before Ring slowly began to make his way out of the kitchen.

_Ring. Ring. Ring. Ring. _

Rick paused at the house phone ringing. It was hanging up of the wall beside the kitchen door. Without hesitation, he picked the phone up from its cradle and answered the phone. He held it up to his ear as he walked down the hallway to the front door. "Grimes Residence, Rick speaking," Rick stated, an old habit that he had done before the outbreak and was something he didn't think would ever break.

"Rick," A familiar voice stated into the phone.

Rick nearly dropped it at the voice that spoke. "Hershel," he replied in surprise. The Sheriff's deputy had never considered that Hershel would remember, but perhaps he should have. He had at least hoped that the other man would be able to recall what had happened. It would definitely make things easier.

"It's good to hear your voice Rick," Hershel replied in a warm and fatherly tone. Hershel had always been a fatherly figure to Rick. He had been a man that many could look up to, for his calm and caring nature.

"It's good to hear from you. I was actually going to attempt to reach out to your later this morning," Rick stated. He could still recall watching Hershel died by the hands of the Governor. The horror and anger that had gripped him at the sight. It was somethin' that still gave him nightmares. Rick unlocked the front door before gripping the doorknob and turning it slowly. The front door swung open, and showing the one person he had honestly not expected to see. He paused at who stood on the other side.

"I'm glad I was able to beat you to it then," Hershel was saying into the phone. Rick barely heard, too surprised and distracted at the figure standing on his porch. "We need to talk Rick, start making some plans."

"Rick," Shane stated in just as much surprise and shock at the sight of him. His large frame was hunched, his hands stuffed into his sweatpants pockets. It was his dark eyes however, that caught Rick's attention. He had always been able to read his best friend, and what his eyes are displaying were conflicting emotions; happiness, relief, sadness, nervousness, and so much more as his dark eyes fell upon Rick's physique.

"Shane," Rick muttered back in surprise.

"Shane's there Rick?" Hershel questioned in curiosity.

Rick held up a hand to Shane, and then gestured for him to enter the house. He watched his best friend, former best friend's?, broader frame step past the front doorway and into the house. "Take a seat Shane," he said as he gestured to the armchair. Lori and Carl were sitting on the sofa, cuddled up together and it brought a smile to curl his lips. However, the pair seemed startled to see Shane in their home. "Yeah, he's here Hershel, and I have a feelin' that there's a conversation that is needin' to happen," he sighed with a glance at his wife, son, and Shane.

"I'm hopin' we'll be able to get together later today over at yours," Rick suggested. "I already have some plans in mind for what we could do," Rick added as he stood between the sofa and armchair. "I'm likely goin' to have some visitors with me," he added as he adjusted his hold of to the phone.

There was an awkward since between Lori, Carl, and Shane. The two adults appeared not wanting to look at each other, and Carl couldn't seem to look at Shane, especially since he had helped his father against Shane in the other timeline.

"That sounds fine with me Rick," Hershel agreed. "It seems the only ones that remember are myself, Shawn, and Beth," the older man added with a sigh. "It'll be interestin' to see those plans of yours."

"Alright then, we should be headin' out in a couple of hours," Rick said, his blue eyes looked between the trio sitting in the living room. "First we need to deal with stuff here, but we should be there 'round 10 or so," The Sheriff Deputy remarked, as hs mind went over everything that he needed to start doing first, before heading over to the Greene Farm.

"I'll see you then Rick," Hershel replied before hanging up.

Rick pulled the phone from his ear and turned it off. With a sigh, he took a seat at the other arm chair and looked between Lori, Carl, and Shane. "This feels like a conversation over coffee," Rick muttered as he rubbed his eyes tiredly.

"I've got it," Lori suddenly stated as she stood from the couch and walked back into the kitchen.

Another silence fell over the three, each unsure of what to say. Shane opened his mouth and spoke, "Rick, I'm so sorry man." There was an expression of deep regret and sadness when he stared at his best friend. Rick was the man that he had loved for years, since the summer of their sophomore year. They had fooled around and experimented, like most teenagers did. But he had stepped away in Freshman year of college, when Jeffrey had introduced Lori to Rick. He had seen then, that Rick was love at first sight with the beautiful brunette. He hadn't wanted to ruin it for his best friend, so he had stepped away. It was something that Shane regretted.

"I don't know if you remember," Shane began to say. As soon as those words left his lips, Rick, Carl, and Lori, who had appeared again with cups of coffee for the adults and orange juice for Carl, knew what he was talking about.

"We all remember Shane," Rick replied evenly. His brilliant blue eyes stared steadily across at his best friend. He wasn't yet willing to trust the other man, especially with everything that had happened between them.

"Good, good," Shane nodded as he roughly ran a hand through his hair. "Nothin' ever happened between Lori and I before then," the black haired man stated firmly. "We should have never done what we did, even after we believed you were gone," he added with a frown. "And I'm sorry for goin' crazy like I did. I was a mad dog that needed puttin' down, before I caused even more damage than I already was doin'," Shane looked across at Rick and could only hope that the man believed him. What he was saying was true. He never would have done what he did, but he had lost himself once society went to hell. With his recollection of this alternate timeline, he knew himself well enough to know that his power over the groups had gone to his head. He wouldn't lead again this time. Rick was always the steady and level headed one, he should be in charge.

Rick ruminates over everything that Shane had said. There was a sense of relief over what he had said. Glancing at Lori showed that she was also in agreement to what Shane had said, that they had never done anything before then. It was reassuring to say the least. He wanted his best friend back, just like he wanted Daryl back at his side. If Shane wanted his forgiveness, Rick was willing to give it to him. It was a different time, what had happened last time was not going to happen this time. Rick would do whatever he had to, to make sure it didn't occur.

"There's nothin' to forgive Shane," Rick replied with a small smile. "I'm just happy to have you at my side this time," he added with a nod. He hoped he wouldn't regret this. "With tha' said, I have some plans in mind to make a safe place for everyone, but we're goin' to need funding," The Sheriff Deputy remarked with a sigh. "I'm thinkin' we sell whatever we can, the house, any extra vehicles," he mused aloud.

Lori nodded her head in agreement, selling the house was fine with her. It was no longer a home for any of them, just a place with walls and a roof. "I can look into getting money from my parents," she suggested. Her parents came from old money, and were always willing to give her money if she just asked.

"I have money saved up, from when mama and pops passed away," Shane said with sigh. "I can go to the bank and look into getting that money out," he added. Just thinking about his parents, even after nearly five years of them being dead and gone, still brought him pain. Rick shared a sad small smile with Shane. Mr. and Mrs. Walsh had been like second parents to Rick.

"Maybe we should get in contact with Aunt Evie and Uncle Jeff," Carl suggested with a small smile. It's been a long time since he had been able to see them. "Maybe I can get in contact with Aunt Alyssa, Uncle Justin, and Aunt Clarissa," he proposed hopefully. He hoped he could save his extended family this time.

"Those are good ideas," Rick agreed with a nod of his head. While he and Hershel have yet to speak about Rick's plans, he didn't want to waste any time. The faster they got things started, the quicker they could get their plans moving. "Lori you call your parents, Shane go to the bank, and Carl call your Aunt and Uncles, and I'll get in contact with a realtor," he ordered and stood from the couch. The coffees remained untouched as the group of four split up, each heading in different directions to get things started.


	3. In Which They Remember

**Fayetteville, Georgia**

Sophia whimpered as she began to stir, her eyes glistened with tears as she pulled herself from her nightmares. She had taught herself a long time ago never to wake up with a cry or scream, least it woke her daddy up. That was somethin' she never wished for. Since she knew her daddy wasn't a nice man and was always so mean to her and her Mama. Her dark brown eyes tore away from the wall she had been staring at, to see that she was in a very familiar room, it was a room she hadn't been in for a long time. Her blonde eyebrows furrowed, as her eyes looked over all the toys put neatly in her toy chest and all her clothes either neatly folded or hung up.

A frown graced her lips, curling them downwards as she slowly swung her legs over the side of her bed. _Why am I back here_? She wondered, as she cautiously stood up from her bed. Her feet padded dully against the scratchy carpeted floor as she walked cautiously to her bedroom door. Nervously, Sophia gripped the door knob and turned it slowly before pulling it open carefully. Her blonde head peaked out first, the sound of pots and pans clanging reached her ears, quickly followed by the smell of breakfast cooking.

Her stomach rumbled with hunger. She released the doorknob at the noise and gripped her stomach with her hands. As if she'd be able to silence it that way. The last time she had eaten, it was before she ran from those Walkers. A shiver ran down her spine at the thought. She hated those things, they scared and frightened her something fierce. She could remember vividly being chased by them. The relief of being found by Mr. Rick brought a smile to her lips. She sometimes wished he was her daddy. Carl always spoke very highly of him and the way Mr. Rick acted towards her was just how she imagined a daddy should act, caring, kind, and loving.

With a small smile, Sophia carefully made her way down the hallway that led to the kitchen. She paused in the doorway at the sight of her Mama cooking breakfast. A frown graced her lips again as she stared at her mother's hunched shoulders and careful movements. It had happened again, she sighed with an upset expression.

It took the young girl a moment, before she recognized the sounds of the television playing, the voices of a newscaster speaking about the daily going on's. Once that notice occurred, Sophia began to notice the other sounds, the hum of the lights and clicking of the gas coming from the stove. It surprised her, as it had been awhile since she's been faced with working electricity and gas. The surprise of them working distracted the blonde girl from her surroundings.

"Oomph," Sophia grunted suddenly when her father appeared from behind her and shoved her out of his way and into the wall. It always amazed her that her father could be so quiet when he had such a loud presence. She watched her father silently, noticing his expression was different today, he seemed lost in his thoughts.

"Where's my food woman?" Ed grumbled to Carol as he took a seat at their small kitchen table. The chair gave a squeak when he took a seat.

"Right here," Carol replied quietly while setting his plate in front of him. "Sophia hunny, come an' and eat," she greeted with a small smile at her daughter. Her own blue eyes showed love, warmth, and awe for her daughter. As if just the sight of her, brought tears to her pretty blue eyes. She loved her daughter, and seeing her standing there, it took Carol's breath away.

"Mornin' Mama," Sophia greeted quietly. A smile graced her lips when her mother kissed her on the forehead. It always sent a warmth of emotion through her chest whenever her mother gave her a kiss like that. At least she had one parent that loved and cared about her. "Thank you Mama," she picked up her fork after her mother set her breakfast down in front of her. It had been a long time since she had eaten like this. The fluffy yellow scrambled eggs, crisp bacon, golden hash browns, and buttered toast made her stomach growl again. With little hesitation, she began to eat the delicious breakfast with a happy hum.

She wanted to ask her Mama if she remembered too, but she wasn't sure if Mama did or not. With the way she was actin', it didn't seem like it, but her Mama had always been good at hidin' her emotions behind a mask. It's somethin' that she's learned to do too when home or out in the public. She always had to make sure the teachers and staff at her school didn't notice anything wrong.

Sophia's attention turned to her father, watching him as he grumbled to himself about "nothin' showin' dead walkin' 'round" while he read his newspaper. The young girl's heart constricted at those words. Afraid her father would see her expression, Sophia looked back down at her plate and slowly continued to eat. She fought her hands from shaking as her mind ran over the knowledge that while her Mama didn't remember, but her father did.

_What should I do_? _What could I do_? Sophia mused to herself as she watched her parents from the corner of her eyes. An idea popped in her head suddenly, making a small smile curl her lips upwards, she knew what she was going to do. She would get rid of her father somehow, but first she'd call Mr. Rick and see what he could do. He must know what to do, he was a police officer after all. She just knew he'd be able to help her and her Mama. All she had to do is find his number and contact him...somehow.

With her plan in mind, Sophia continued to eat her breakfast in a content silence. She'd protect herself and her Mama, if her Mama couldn't do it for them.

**Duluth, Georgia**

"Gods damn motha' fucker!" Merle Dixon bellowed abruptly as he jolted up and stumbled out of his bed with a loud crash. His icy blue colored eyes looked rapidly around the small cabin bedroom he was in. "Wha' the fuckin' god damn hell is goin' on?" He demanded as he stood from his bedroom floor. He shouldn't have been anywhere near this godforsaken hellhole. He looked down at having two working hands in surprise. "I'd be damned and fucked sideways, how's in the hell do I have two fuckin' 'ands 'gain?" The man's blue eyes roved over his hands, curling the hand he had lost with shock. This should not be fucking possible.

The last thing he could remember was the pig ass mother fucker of a Governor shooting him in the fucking heart. It shouldn't be possible, that he was awake and back in his old bedroom from before the apocalypse bullshit. He had died, he knew he had, and yet he had woken up here? If this was some reaction from a bad trip he was fuckin' callin' off the drugs. He wasn't goin' to die this time and he was certainly not going to work with that shit stain Governor again.

Within the small house the Dixon brothers lived in, was quiet. The hum of electricity could be heard, like a buzzing of thousands insects just out of eyesight. The dim lighting of the sun filtered through the window, giving the room a yellow golden glow. The distant sounds of motor vehicles could be heard, along with the sounds of nature. It was off putting, to hear electricity again, when silence had been commonplace.

"What the fuck is yer pro'lem Merle!" His baby brother hollered as he stood in the door with an irritated expression. His hair was neatly brushed, as if he'd been awake for awhile already. He was dressed in his usual dark blue jeans, a plain black shirt, with his angel wings vest over it, and his brown biker boots. Incensed green eyes burned into Merle, but the older man couldn't find himself caring worth a damn. He was alive and gettin' a second chance and he wasn't gonna screw it up this time.

"Baby bro' yer up earlier than usual," he replied cheekily with a smile that he knew got under his baby brothers skin. He ignored his younger brothers question. It was the older Dixon's duty to irritate his baby brother, otherwise he wasn't doin' his job as big brother. Merle searched the room and began to pick up a pair of blue jeans, a plain black shirt followed by a plaid shirt, and some socks for his feet.

"No thanks to yer dumb ass," Daryl replied darkly. Merle was always stirring some shit up. Or causin' some sort ah trouble, it didn't matter what it was, it was always something. "What's got ya fucked up head in a mess now?" He questioned exasperatedly. If it was because Merle was coming off of somethin' again, he was gonna be pissed. Stupid asshole was always causin' them some sort of trouble. Whether it be knockin' up some fling of his, gettin' arrested, or nearly gettin' them killed, it was always somethin' with him.

"Bad fuckin' nigh'mare," The older Dixon responded as he plopped down on the bed. The bed squeaked and groaned at his weight, appearing to be only seconds away from collapsing. "Yer wouldn' 'appen tah 'ave any nigh'mare 'bout dead fucks eatin' humans huh?" Merle asked his brother in his southern drawl. His dark eyebrow raised in question at his baby brother.

Daryl stared blankly at his brother, no recollection showed in his bright green eyes. There was confusion and irritation shining in his emerald green colored eyes, when he looked at his big brother. "Yah high or somethin'?" He asked his older brother with annoyance. "There ain't no thang 'bout dead eatin' humans Merle. Yah need tah lay off the drugs," he replied to Merle with a grumble. He hated his brother when he did drugs, the guy was a bigger asshole than usual.

"W'at I dreamed was no fuckin' joke Darlena. If w'at I dreamed is gonna 'appen, I ain't gonna die this time 'round," He decided with a nod of his head as he stood from the bed and grabbed the clothes he had scavenged up from the floor. He slid his jeans on and buttoned them before sliding his black t-shirt and plaid long sleeve on. Slipping into his aged brown biking boots he glanced at Daryl, who merely looked back at his older brother with a raised eyebrow.

"W'at the 'ell yah talkin' 'bout it Merle?" Daryl demanded as he followed his big brother out of the small bedroom and back into the main area of the cabin. It merely held an open spaced small kitchenette, a living room, dining area, and a bathroom through a door to the right of the cabin. It was nothing special, just a small place that they lived in.

"Gonna give Officer Friendly a call, tha's wa' I'ma do," Merle decided as he grabbed his truck keys from the wooden dining table while he walked past the table to the front door.

Daryl's eyebrows raised at Merle's statement. Officer Friendly? Who the fuck was that? Was his brother gonna call some cop? What the hell was up with Merle? His brother was a loose cannon when he wasn't clean. The younger Dixon followed his big brother, their booted feet making dull thuds as they walked across the wooden floors. While he didn't understand what the hell Merle was talkin' 'bout, he wasn't about to let the dumbass go by himself. Gods know he would wind up causin' some sort of trouble if he did as gettin' arrested in the process. He always caused some sorta trouble when he was let out in public.

**Atlanta, Georgia**

**Midtown**

Jacqui Prescott stirred awake in a sweat induced terror. Dark brown, nearly black eyes, scanned her darkened bedroom with fear thrumming through her body. Her heart raced rapidly in her chest at the terror she was feeling. With a shaky hand, she pressed it to her chest, feeling its brisk beating against her clammy hand. Her mind was consumed with memories of something that shouldn't be possible. She had to have dreamed it all...right? Her mind went over everything she remembered and it made the terror raise anew once again.

"It has to have been real," she murmured to herself. She swung her feet over the bed and pushed herself to stand. From within her apartment, she could hear the sounds of a television playing as voices laughed, the noise of cars honking and people hollering, and doors opening and closing. The noise was something that startled Jacqui, as it had been a long time since she'd heard such life outside. Often times, it was the deadly sounds of groans from the Walkers and screams from people dying that rang in her ears.

Jacqui walked unsteadily to her desk. She was caught off balanced at the sounds and sight of her laptop and desk lamp innocently sitting on top of it. The older woman carefully touched the objects, feeling their smoothness against her palm, before pulling the supple leather desk chair out from beneath the desk and taking a seat. She pushed the laptop screen up and pressed the power button on and waited for it to load. Reaching out with a shaking hand, she turned the light switch on with a flick of her middle and pointer finger, and squinted against the sudden bright yellow glow it emitted.

Jacqui's hands anxiously tapped the desk table, her eyes flickering over the pictures on her desk, and stared at the ones of her mother and baby brothers. Her mother Nadine, looked so full of life in that moment. She was sitting in a chair, hands loosely laying in her lap, as she looked up towards a hummingbird that was drinking from the bird feeder. She looked so happy and in awe at that moment, that it brought tears to Jacqui's eyes. How long has it been since she had seen her mother and heard her voice? It felt like such a long time to have gone without.

She turned her eyes to the next picture on her desk, where her younger brothers, Raoul, Laurent, and Auguste. All three of her brothers hand their arms thrown over each other's shoulders. In the background was their grandmother's farmhouse. It was a white charming house, with its rustic appearance of dark green shutters and wood paneling with a wrap around porch. But it was the sight of her brothers in the front of it, cackling over a crude joke Laurent most likely had told, that had her attention. Knowing her brothers, it was likely that Laurent had caused them to laugh. He was like that, always the one breaking the tension that built up between them all with a well played pun or joke.

A smile graced her lips at the thought of her brothers. She loved her family fiercely and having lost them like she had, it had broken something inside of her. It caused her to resort to committing suicide in the CDC, but she didn't think she'd be able to do it this time. Not if she had the chance to save her family, and she would save them if she had the chance.

Jacqui drew her attention back to the laptop and clicked the icon with her name, which quickly loaded and opened to her account. Jacqui's eyes were drawn to the date of the bottom right hand corner of the screen. Her eyes grew wide in shock at what it displayed: 3/5/2010. The time showed it was 5:18 AM.

With her index finger she used the mouse to open a browser and quickly typed in a name: Rick Grimes. It was one person she could vividly recall. As Rick had made a lasting impression. The response that came with searching his name was immediate. Google loaded pages worth of information on Sheriff Deputy Rick Grimes from Kings County Georgia. "It was real," she muttered with shock. Her lean frame inclined back into her desk chair at the realization. "That means I'm back, but why?" Jacqui asked herself with a frown.

Her hands trembled as she typed in, Rick Grimes phone number. If there was anyone that could or would help her, it had to be Rick. He was a good man and had saved them when they were locked in that store. She grabbed the phone that was plugged and charging beside her laptop and pulled the cord out. It displayed a 100% sign in the upper right corner of the phone. Good, that meant she could give Rick a call and figure out what to do.

**Atlanta, Georgia**

**Virginia Highlands**

"Papa! Mama! It's time to wake up!" A young innocent child's voice called out through the closed bedroom door. A banging knock on the door disturbed the couple sleeping within the bedroom.

"Okay Jed, I'll be up in a minute," Jim Rothenberg muttered tiredly from his position beneath the comforter and sheet covers. It took the older man a few seconds to realize what he had heard and muttered sleepily. He jolted abruptly with a start at his son's voice. The comforter and sheets fell into his lap as dark brown eyes looked rapidly around the familiar master bedroom of his home. He had to abandon it, he remembered, when the dead started walking, he had to leave but...Jim's thoughts trailed off as he looked to the left to see his wife. Her chest was raising up and down in a sign of sleep.

"Jessie," he muttered with a voice thick of awe, love and emotion. His eyes burned fiercely with tears he wasn't willing to shed as he stared at his beautiful wife.

"Mmm? Jim, you okay baby?" Jessica Rothenberg asked tiredly. Her brilliant steel gray eyes connected to his dark brown with worry and concern.

"I'm fine Hun, just got startled by Jed's hollerin'," Jim replied. He reached out with a calloused hand, caused from long days in the mechanic garage using his hands, and gently cupped his wife's cheek. "I love ya somethin' fierce Jessie," he said while leaning down and giving her a small tender and loving kiss. It was something he hadn't been able to do for a long while. Not after he lost her and his kids. The thought of his children brought tears to his eyes again.

"I love you too Jimmy," Jessica muttered in their kiss. Slowly the married couple pulled away at the sounds of their children hollering and fighting with each other down the hallway. "It never ends," she sighed fondly, her red hair curled around her shoulders in messy waves. Her grey eyes sparkled as she stood from the bed. While passing the closet she grabbed her robe that was hanging on a hook and slid it on over her flowing nightgown. "I best go gather the youngin's, least they cause mass mayhem," she joked with a smile over her shoulder before she walked out the bedroom door. "Come done for breakfast in a bit!" Jessica hollered over her shoulder to her husband.

"Will do Jessie love!" He hollered back with a smile. _Was it all a dream_? Jim wondered as he stood from the bed and grabbed his pajama bottoms and shirt to slide on. It couldn't have been, the grief was too intensely present to be anything else. The knowledge that he may lose his wife and children, along with his sister and her family again, it caused an ache in his heart. He wasn't going to lose them this time, he was going to save them.

Jim looked around the room, noticing the little things. The alarm clock glowed with red letters, depicting the time as 5:58. The early morning sunlight was filtering through the curtains, permitting rays of light to shine in the room. The electricity's hum and the sound of rushing water distracted Jim for a moment. How long had it been before he died, that they had running water and electricity? It was like being in a whole new world, and with this new world, he had another chance to save his family and he knew just the man to call; Rick Grimes.

**Atlanta, Georgia**

**Centennial Hill**

"Glenn! Glenn! Glenn!" A young female voice called out through Glenn Rhee's sleeping nightmares. The sleeping twenty-two-year old groaned and awoke. His dark brown, nearly black eyes, connected with hazel eyes.

"Lily," Glenn muttered in shock as he pushed himself slowly up from the couch he had fallen asleep on. "What's going on?" He asked with a yawn. He rubbed his tired face, his mind going back to the nightmares he had. That couldn't have been real...right? The vivid nightmares flashed again in his mind, the pain he had experienced couldn't be faked. The emotional pain of losing a loved one to the Walkers or living, was too intense to be anything else but real.

Then there was the physical pain. His whole body flinched at the remembrance of being bludgeoned to death by Negan and his bat Lucille. He could vividly recall the stifled cries of his family, as they tried to stop Negan but couldn't. Glenn's heart rate raised as his stomach turned violently at the lucid recollection of the extreme pain he had experienced. Without warning, he gagged and turned on his side, bile spilling from his mouth and onto the floor beside the couch. His stomach muscles clenched and spasmed as he dry heaved over the floor.

"Glenn! Are you okay?" His little sister Lily cried out in alarm. Her concerned sea green eyes were shadowed by her black bangs. Her hands wrung together in distress, unsure how to help her big brother.

"I'm okay, Lils," he choked out. His stomach still twisted at the horrific memory of his death, before remembering he had left behind two very important someones. "Maggie," Glenn groaned with tears in his eyes. He had left behind his pregnant wife. _Did the baby survive_? _Did Maggie get help_? His head pounded with his racing heart as tears slid free and down his pale cheeks. _Was anyone else remembering this_? Glenn glanced at his youngest sister and chuckled weakly. "I'm okay Lily, I promise," he wanted to believe it too, but his head was still consumed with his worries and concerns.

"Who's Maggie?" The twelve-year-old asked with furrowed eyebrows and confusion shining bright in her hazel eyes.

Glenn ignored her question. He was too lost in the realization that he was alive, back before everything started. Now that the panic and recollection was lessening a little, he started to hear traffic outside the apartment building, the sounds of voices and electricity thrummed loud in his ears. It was off putting, to such clear signs if life. Especially since when he died, they barely had a full community worth of people. The largest group he'd seen before he died, was Negan's Saviors.

The fact that he was alive with another chance, it meant that his younger sister's were still alive. It meant that his aunts, uncles, cousins, and their families, were all currently still alive. Those very thoughts, the realization that his family was still alive, made his chest constrict. He hadn't been able to save them last time, but he had to save them this time. He didn't think he'd be able to handle seeing them die this time, not when he had the chance to save them, but how? _How can I get them to believe me and go with me when leave_? He asked himself as he considered all the supplies he would need to get. Maybe his older cousins and their spouses, who worked in the medical field, would be able to help him get a hold of all that? When he was able to get them to believe...if he was able to.

He knew he would need to get in contact with Rick. He was the only one Glenn could think of that might believe him about everything that would happen and has happened. Rick was a good man and leader. He had saved their lives countless times and protected them all at one point or another. He was also good with speeches, and seemed to have some sort of power to get people to agree with him through that ability. Glenn nodded to himself in agreement with his thoughts. Yeah, he'll call Rick...as soon as he cleaned himself up a bit first.

**Macon, Georgia**

Michael "Mike" Hardison has had a pretty good life for the most part. He has his girlfriend Michonne and their adorable little boy Andre Anthony. He has best friend and a nice house. Growing up in a foster home with his twin brother led Mike to desiring a better life for himself. So he went about acquiring that ability by using any methods he could, even if at times it wasn't legal methods, it worked.

Mike awoke that morning to memories of a hellish world, sweat cling to his skin while his heart pounded away in his chest. He abruptly realized that maybe he should cut the drugs from his life, after the memories of his other life settled in his mind. His addiction the last time had caused more than just his death. Dark brown eyes glanced over at the right side of the bed and saw the sleeping figure of Michonne. Her dreadlocks were splayed out around her head like a halo. Her breathing was calm and steady with her chest rising on every restful breath.

Mike stood slowly from the bed, his toes curling inwards into the soft comfortable carpet. He reached into the dresser drawer, and grabbed the small bag filled with white powder inside it. He rubbed his head as he walked into the bathroom and dumped it into the toilet. There was no hesitation in his movement when he flushed the toilet, allowing the coke that was his addiction flush away.

He was startled at the soft touch of his girlfriend's hand on his shoulder. "You okay?" she asked softly. It was not a question filled with concern. With brown eyes that he loved so much, Mike knew he had to do this for his family and for himself.

"Yeah...I want to get clean," Mike replied softly. His hand raised and gently squeezed hers, where it was still on his shoulder. "I can't let these drugs consume me," he continued with grief and regret clear in his tone. His mind went back to his baby boy. _How I could have been so irresponsible with his safety_? He felt disgusted with himself. He was going to do things different this time. He wasn't going to allow himself to hear the sounds of his son's dying screams happen again. His son wasn't going to die if he had anything to say about it.

Michonne stared at her lover, not understanding why he was so upset. She knew the drugs he took was no good, but she didn't understand this grief and regret Mike was feeling. "Will you go to the rehabilitation clinic I found for you?" Michonne asked her boyfriend. She had already found a drug rehabilitation center in a small town known as Kings County, it was a good six hours away from where they lived, but the money they had at their disposal, she wasn't worried about the cost of finding a place to rent. The only reason she chose that particular location was because it had loser guidelines and rules that individuals had to follow. And it didn't take a long process to be able to sign up for it.

Mike nodded his head at Michonne's question. He was going to go, not just for himself, but for his girlfriend and son. He had a feeling that Michonne had everything planned out already. Before he could ask about it, the sound of fierce knocking on their front door drew their attention away from each other.

"I'll get it," he stated with a small smile. Michonne acknowledged him with a nod before she disappeared down the hallway and into Andre's bedroom, the sound of their son awakening having caught her attention. "I'm comin'!" He hollered when the pounding knocking started up again. He unlocked the door and opened them to the sight of Terry in a distraught mess.

"I don't know what was in that shit, but after what I dreamed, I ain't takin' it again. I can't let my nephew die," Terry said with tears in his eyes.

"You don't have to man. Come with me to the rehab clinic." Mike replied with a firm squeeze to Terry's shoulder. He brought him into the apartment and shut the door behind him.

**Center For Disease Control**

Edwin Jenner awoke to the sounds of activity. The murmuring sounds of voices, the clattering of objects being moved, and doors shutting and closing. Brown eyes opened and stared at the plain white ceiling above him. He pushed himself slowly up into a sitting position. His eyes roved around the room, studying the small queen bed he lay in, the small desk in the right corner, and the clock on the wall, that was ticking away with the time.

The last thing he remembered was Rick Grimes and his group. They had stayed for a few days, before learning about the truth. _Had that really happened_?, Dr. Jenner asked himself. _Could I change what happens_? He wonders as he thinks of what had happened to his wife and some of his co-workers. He considered the options he had. His first option was that he could stay here in the CDC and work on the disease, but there wasn't going to be much success with that after most of the other scientists and army deserted. His second option was to leave. He could wait until everyone else ran off, and then grab one of the abandoned trucks and pack it up with all the food, medical supplies, and science equipment that was left here. These supplies would be helpful in future situations.

Edwin began to consider his third option when the sounds of the door knob turning and then being pushed open, snapped his eyes to the figure standing in the doorway. "Cyn?" He gasped out, his dark brown eyes brimmed with tears as he stared at his beautiful wife. Those hazel eyes he loved so much, stared back at him tearfully. There was recognition in them, a remembrance of a time when they had to say goodbye to each other, after she was bitten. Watching her burn from the inside out because of the disease. It had killed whatever was left of him in the inside. He had nothing left to live for after she died.

"Ed," she murmured with a small tearful smile.

Edwin stumbled out of the bed and reached out for her. Cynthia fell into his arms, they held each other as they cried. They had been torn apart last time, but this time they weren't going to lose each other to death. They were going to fight for each other, and for others that deserved to live too.

"You have a plan" Cynthia murmured to her husbands chest. Her cheeks were tear streaked. Her hazel eyes glittered in the bright overhead lights. There was a strength of steel in them, showing she was ready to follow him, whatever he decided.

"I have a plan," he agreed, his mind going back to Rick Grimes and his group. Maybe it was time to take up the other man's invitation to join them. And maybe he'd be able to save some of the soldiers and scientists here. More brilliant minds would do wonders for what he was already considering doing.

**Jacksonville, Florida**

Tyreese Williams groaned as he awoke from his slumber. Dark brown eyes looked around the bedroom he was in with confusion. He could vaguely recall being in this room before. He rubbed his hands over his eyes, and slowly sat up. He froze as he recognized the pictures and awards hung upon the walls. He quickly looked to the left, where his nightstand was, to see the time in bright red light: 5:39. From the dim darkness shown outside the windows, he could only assume it was early morning. Shaking his head Tyreese looked around his warmly furnished bedroom.

It had been a long time since he's woken up in his old bed. He's almost forgotten what it feels like to sleep on something so comfortable. There was a loud crash, thump and thud that comes from the other room, right next to his. From what Tyreese recalls, it was Sasha's bedroom that was making those noises. It's only a few minutes later and his bedroom is slamming open. It bounces against the wall, leaving an indent in the gray painted walls, and nearly swinging shut again before his younger sister catches it.

The siblings share a look, both silently recognizing that they each remembered what happened before. It can be clearly seen in the haunted looks in their eyes. "What happened to you?" Tyreese asked in concern and worry for his sister. He can see it in her eyes, glazed over with tears and turbulent emotions that show a hardship she's gone through.

Sasha released a choked laugh, tears finally slipping free as she walked further into the bedroom and took a sleep beside her brother. "I lost Bob, you, Abraham, and a lot of others we considered family," she replied sadly. "I lost myself to the grief, it was suffocating. The anger...the sadness...the hate," Sasha shook her head at her remembered emotions. "It felt pointless to keep living," she remarked with quirk of her lips. It wasn't a happy smile or sad frown, but just a way to express herself.

Tyreese looked over at his sister sadly. He never wanted her to have to deal with losing anyone else after Bob. His mind went back to those dreams he had, of the dead walking again and killing others. To the thought of how he lost Karen, to the disease that spread in the prison, who was then killed by Carol. He wanted to look for her. Her last name was Delgado and she lived in Denver, Colorado before everything started. He had learned this information during a conversation about their family and where they had both lived before. They had talked about more, but those conversations weren't important at the moment. The knowledge of where Karen was, that was important.

"We should find Bob and get him cleaned," Sasha remarked as she glanced over at her brother. There was a hesitancy at her suggestion. As if she expected Tyreese to say that they shouldn't.

Dark brown, nearly black eyes, looked over at her. His eyebrow raised in question. "Do you know where he is?" The big man asked.

"He used to live in Billings, Minnesota," Sasha replies with a small smile. "Born there actually. He lives in Jefferson City, Missouri with a couple of friends now," she added with a slight smile. "He moved their when he was in her mid twenties, and should still be there now," Sasha considered aloud with a small smile at the thought.

Tyreese gripped her hand in his, and nodded slowly. "I'd like to find Karen too, I know where she lives," he stated as he looked over at Sasha. The younger sibling nodded slowly in agreement. She remembered how devastated Tyreese had been to lose Karen. "I also want to get in contact with Rick too, before we go. If anyone would remember, I bet it'd be him," The former NFL player added. "Then we'll go look for Bob and Karen," he finished with a gentle squeeze of Sasha's hand.

Sasha nodded at her brother in agreement and understanding. She can do that, as long as they do finally get to leave and find Bob. When they find Bob and Karen, they'll start getting ready and preparing for what will happen.

**Houston, Texas**

Abraham Ford used his left hand to rub his eyes tiredly as he leaned his right hand against the bathroom counter. His red hair was damp from the hot shower he had just taken. Water dripping down his face and onto the bathroom counter. He had almost forgotten what hot water felt like. At Alexandria it was refreshing to experience it, but he hadn't used the hot water as intensely as he had now. In the distance he could hear the sounds of his wife Ellen cooking breakfast. He could hear AJ and Becca laughing and talking as they played around in the living room.

It had been disorienting for Abraham to wake up to the sight of his wife and children alive and well. After their deaths, he had been able to really think about his family, and realized that they had been afraid of him even before then.

He can recall now the flinches and wary looks sent his way when they thought he wasn't looking. The silences and shared glances, it all pointed to his family having been frightened of him before he murdered those men. He knew it was because of his wartime experiences, and how he had gradually formed into an incredibly brutal and malicious person. It wasn't just the dead walking that made him this way. He knows his aggressive demeanor has heavily strained the relationship between him and his family a great deal, but he loved his family, he would never hurt them. He would do whatever he could to ensure that they survived this time.

Abraham pushes away from the bathroom and wiped his face before stepping out of the decently sized room. A towel was wrapped around his waist, slowing the cool breeze of the air conditioner to brush his skin. He shivered at the feel and quickly picked out his outfit for the day. He tossed the clothes on the bed, and was consumed with the plans his mind was running through. He was forcing himself to ignore the sounds coming from outside. The sounds of cars driving, people talking, and children laughing as they walked to school. Everything was so loud, after he had lived with so much silence around him daily. Walkers honestly didn't make as much noise as one thought, unless they were stirred like a hornets nest. Their groans and moans only really kicked up when they saw a person they considered dinner.

The red haired man considered what he should do next. He'd need to start stockpiling on supplies. Probably should get in contact with the others, see if they remembered. If Rick recalled their other lives, he was most likely already making plans and figuring shit out. It's why Abraham likes and respected a man like Rick. He was what people called a good strong leader. He knew what to do and how to get it done when it was needed. He wasn't afraid to get his hands dirty and dish out punishment or justice when it was called for. But he wasn't a dictator like the fucked up asshole Negan. Rick actually listened to others opinions and was willing to hear their sides before making a decision. Rick was certainly someone he would get in contact with.

Abraham dressed swiftly into the clothes he'd chosen for himself. A pair of his jeans, plain shirt, and boots were Putin quickly. He forced himself to ignore the residual pains of how he died. Being beaten to death by a bat wrapped in barbed wire? It was a fucked up way to go and it wasn't something he needed on his mind right now. Especially since he had other things to worry about, like getting started on getting shit ready for when the apocalypse happened.

**Charlottesville, Virginia**

Riley Teller had been born into a family of outlaws, criminals, manipulators, and killers. He had been witness to many of the atrocities that had occurred within his family's legacy as part of an illegal biker Club. As the oldest child, it had always been Riley's duty as the big brother to take care of his younger siblings. Once his adoptive/step-mother had been murdered, followed by his grandmother and step-grandfather, then his father committing suicide, all falling within a short seven month time span, had left the young man reeling. He had seen the disastrous cycle occurring and could only watch helplessly as his life spun out of control. Following the death of his family and the disappearance of his Uncle Opie,

Riley had waited just long enough to get through the funerals and legal proceedings, before leaving his hometown behind. He had driven across the country, with his younger siblings and son, in the backseat of his biological mother's black 1967 Shelby Mustang GT500 Fastback, to a new place to stay. Until he found a place for them to officially settle down.

He hadn't wanted to remain in his hometown, in a place that only held bad memories for him. So he left and ended up in Virginia, living in a small city that he passed by once, in another life. He had taken it upon himself to take care of and raise his younger siblings, but he had never expected to awaken that morning to memories of another life flashing through his mind. To have memories of the dead rising and ripping people apart. Of being shown the deaths of those he cared about, of meeting strangers while he was in Georgia, and came to consider them his family. When he started travelling with them, he grew to have a larger family, where they all protected and killed for each other, if they need came for it.

Rick, Daryl, Michonne, they had been like the parents that he didn't have any longer. Negan had ended up becoming a father like figure to him, after Rick died, Daryl lost himself to grief, and Michonne was left raising RJ and Judith. The older man was related to him, as he had found out, and hadn't known what to do with that information. Glenn and Maggie had been like older siblings to him. They teased and joked with him, protected him and pulled him out of his head when he began to sink too deep. Carl, he had truly been someone special to him. Just the flickering thought of Carl sent his heart skipping a beat. He and Carl had a love like their parents had before they died. They had been through thick and thin through the apocalypse together. They fought and argued like all couples did, but they preserved and saved each other too. Losing him like he had, had nearly destroyed Riley. He had lost himself to the madness of his grief. He had lost most of his younger siblings over the seven years he had Carl. The only ones in his memory that hadn't died was Eli and Layla, but they were his kids, he'd do anything for them. Abel, Thomas, and Harry had all died at some point in that alternate timeline.

Riley roughly wiped his eyes as he sat on the stoop of the small Virginian house he's currently renting. _How am I going to do this_? _How am I possibly going to save my baby brothers and keep them safe_? _How am I even going to raise them?_ He asked himself with a growing sense of frustration. While he had the memories of his alternate life, It had only been a long year where he lost everyone he cared and loved.

He didn't know what to do now. He didn't know how he going to manage any of what was going to happen, especially when he was back to looking like a seventeen-year-old kid. He knew how to fight and use weapons, but it was hard to fight while having to take care of kids on your own. Especially against a shit storm that was supposed to occur in just a few months. He's dragged from his thoughts by the sound of the house phone ringing. He stumbled to his feet and walked back into the house. The screen door slammed shut behind him, as his rough calloused hands picked up the phone and held it to his ear.

"Hello?" He asked into the phone.

"Riley?" That voice nearly sent Riley to his knees, as he forcefully sat down on the chair behind him with a dull thump. His hands shook at that voice and his eyes blurred with tears.

"Carl?" The blonde haired teen choked out through a tight throat. He was so glad that Carl had remembered. God, he had fears that his partner wouldn't have remembered. Even though his younger lover was currently in his twelve-year-old body, now that he thought about it. "How did you find my number?" Riley asked curiously.

"Yeah, it's me Ri," his voice sounded choked up when he spoke. As if he was fighting not to cry. "I'm so glad you remember," Carl added thankfully. There's a tearful smile that could be heard in his tone. "I found your name and number through google. I forgot how amazing technology is," he chuckled through his tears of joy and grief.

Riley hadn't been so thankful to hear someone's voice then he was now. By the time of his death, Riley had been in his thirties. It had been around eleven years since he'd last seen or heard Carl's voice. He'd started to forget the little things about his younger lover. It had been so long since his death that his memories had begun to blur. He hated that he was starting to forget things about his younger partner, when he had really nothing left of his lover. He'd longed to hold him in his arms, hear his laugh and see his smile one last time. To get that scent that reminded him of fall and fresh cut grass after a rainfall. A trembling smile curled his lips upwards as he listened to his lover speak.

"I missed you Carl, so much," Riley replied with a wet laugh as the tears finally slipped free and slid down his cheeks. He shakily wiped them away and chuckled at his own lack of control over his emotions. It'd been a long time since he'd recalled crying or laughing much, after losing so many loved ones, it felt difficult to find anything to be happy about. The children were the only ones that could ever really bring him happiness.

"Me too," Carl responded with clear concern in his youthful voice. "Are you going to be coming to Georgia?" the younger boy asked in interest and hope. Riley could imagine the look of delight shining in his beautiful blue eyes, his smile stretching his lips into a wide grin. "Dad, Mom, and Shane remember everythin'," the brown haired added with a small smile. "Dad's already makin' plans and everythin' for us," Carl added with a chuckle. Everyone who knew Rick Grimes, knew he always made plans and tried to prepare for all types of scenarios.

"Yay, I actually have some suggestions to give Rick. I want to see what he thinks 'bout them," Riley replied with a hum as his mind went over his plans. "There's ideas I've come up with, over the years before I died," the seventeen-year-old stated to his younger partner. His bright green eyes looked to the clock ticking away on the wall. All the furniture in the place came with the rental. So it wasn't anything special if he and his siblings had to suddenly pack up and move. He would keep his biological mother's black 1967 Shelby Mustang GT500 Fastback and use it to drive to Senoia, Georgia.

The car was something that his parents had built together when they were teenagers. He also has his father's black 2003 Harley Davidson Dyna Super Glide Sport in the garage with the car. It was his father's second spare bike, and not the one he used to commit suicide with. He'd just buy a trailer and put the bike and any supplies in the back.

"He'll be glad to hear any idea, I think," Carl replied with a smile. "When do you think you'll get here?" "I should be down in about nine, almost ten hours. Likely around the evening or nearing midnight, depending on rest stops and traffic. I'm planning on stocking the fuck up on shit on the way down and on the way to Georgia," Riley had quiet a few ideas on what sort of things he should buy now, on his way down to Georgia.

"Okay, I'll let dad know you're going to be on your way here," Carl replied with some excitement. He had missed Riley and he wanted his older boyfriend, where they still boyfriends?, back at his side. Before Riley could say anything else, Carl hung up. Shaking his head in amusement, the young man placed the phone back in its cradle before calling out to Abel and Thomas, "Abel, Tommy! Get ready and dressed, we're going out!" With the rather vast fortune that Riley had at his disposal; from the life insurance money from his parents (his mother mainly), his grandmother and Clay, and the money that his father had hidden away (that had been the Clubs), Riley was happily willing to spend it all before the end. It wasn't like he wanted it in the first place. It was all blood money as far as he was concerned.

With the sounds of his younger brothers getting ready, Riley prepared his youngest brother and infant son to get ready to go. They had a shopping trip to prepare for and a trip to Georgia that was going to be interesting, to say the least.

* * *

**Author Note**:

In this chapter, there are a quite a lot of characters that make an appearance. Not all of them are likely to be expected, but each have a connection to Rick.

Rick is the common factor for all of them. They all know Rick, have had him as a leader, acquaintance, or enemy, at one point or another. In my opinion, Rick is an individual that everyone tends to turn to when a situation is bad and they need his help. In this case, it's due to the beginning of an outbreak starting.

There is an Original Male Character, that is a primary character. The short background of him is that his name is Riley Teller. He's seventeen-years-old at the beginning of the outbreak, and was Carl Grimes' partner in the original timeline and will be in this timeline. The pair didn't start anything sexually until Carl was around 16, even though Carl wanted to when he was 14. Riley has been a part of Rick's group since the start in Atlanta. He's a badass like all of Rick's group, and you'll learn more about his past throughout the story.

I do apologize for any grammatical errors or what not. I'll likely be reading this chapter over a few times to find any I missed.

Also, I'm still trying to get some of the characters personality and what not. So I do apologize if they might seem OOC or something. I am watching the Walking Dead again to help me get into their mindsets, as best as I possibly can.

If you have any questions, feel free to send me a PM or leave a review, and I'll be sure to respond.


	4. Going to the Greene Farm

**Kings County, Georgia**

Rick rubbed at his forehead as he hung up the telephone, placing it back into its cradle. Morning sunlight filtered through the blinds of his office, giving the room a bright golden glow. The large bay windows were directly to the left of Rick's desk. From outside the window he could see the slow swaying of the backyard tree as a cool breeze blew from the southwest. It was an honestly beautiful sunny day, filled with the sounds of birds chirping and life moving about. How long has it been since he heard such carefree going ons? Life following the outbreak was anything but happiness and carefree living. It became all about survival. The quiet was something haunting, which only broke with the sounds of the growls and moans of the Walkers, as they caught scent of humans, fresh meat calling to them like a shark smelling blood in the water.

Rick flipped through the papers spread out on his desk. They were filled with ideas and designs for what he had in mind, but he was always willing to hear other people's inputs. As they likely would have thought of something he hadn't. Directly across from his desk was a bookshelf that filled the wall from left to right. It was completely full of books of numerous variety, from survival books to romance literature. In the middle of the room was a couch, two arm chairs on either side of the small glass coffee table that was in front of the sofa. The couch was up against the wall, beneath the bay windows on the left side of the room.

He had been talking on the phone all morning with the realtor about selling the house. It had taken some sweet talking to her, but he was finally able to get Mrs. Carolyn Burnham to agree to immediately start the paperwork to get the house up for sell. He wanted the house sold as quickly as possible, as long as it was sold for what it is worth. Rick had no doubt that Mrs. Burnham found him a bit odd and the request even more unusual, but they didn't have a lot of time, and he needed to get the money to start building.

He was honestly considering using funds from the Sheriff Department as well. He was going to use the money he gained from selling his place, from Lori's and his own parents, Shane's parents insurance money, and that was about it so far. It wouldn't be nearly as much as he needed for the plans he had. If he used the funds that were received from the state and government for the department, it would be extra help. It's not like they'd be able to use those funds in a few months time anyways. So why not use it now? It had more than enough money at its disposal.

Rick considered his options, on whether or not it was a good idea to do so. If he was caught or people noticed, especially Sheriff Stilinski who was as honest as they came, there could be some serious penalties on him. Unless he spoke bluntly and honestly with the older man. Sheriff Stilinski was a kind and honest officer, who followed his own moral code. He had three young kids, his older ones are either out of the house and in college or have their own lives. The youngest children the Sheriff has, was a teenager and the other children were around Carl's age if not younger. Could he save the Sheriff and his family this time, perhaps get him on his side now?

The blue eyed man rubbed his mouth as he thought this over. He had already called in sick from work, and he had learned Shane did too, when he called in. Lori, had also called in sick at work. Since Lori wasn't going into work, they had also called Carl in. Maybe after he came back from his visit with Hershel, he'd talk to the Sheriff, see if he could get him to believe what was going to happen.

Rick was definitely hoping that Lori's parents would come through. Her parents were extremely wealthy, they came from old money. If they had their money at his disposal, it could go a long way in preparing.

He also knew he needed to get in contact with his parents, but he was going to delay it for a few more days. They were enjoying their vacation in the caribbean, and would be back in a couple of days anyways. It gave him some extra time to think over what he should say to his parents to get them to believe him about what was to occur in a couple of months. Rick hopes it won't take too much convincing to get them to believe him.

His head turned at a knock on his office door, and watched as Carl, Lori, and Shane walked into the office. The trio took a seat on the couch and chairs in front of the windows. They didn't look upset, if anything they looked tired and a little frustrated. With a sigh, Rick stood and walked around the desk, before collapsing on the couch beside Carl.

"I talked to Uncle Jeff and Aunt Evie," Carl began before he could ask. The young boy looked over at his father with darker blue eyes. "Aunt Evie says she can't come, since she has some big things going on in her life right now," Rick nearly rolled his eyes at his son's reiteration of what his Aunt told him. Evie always seems to have some "big thang" going on in her life. Whether it was a new relationship, some drama of the romantic sense, or a new adventure she and her friends decided to go on. It was always something.

"I assumed as much," he stated with amusement. Shane was also smirking, as they both knew how Evie was. She had been the wild child out of the siblings. Being the youngest and the only girl, she had been treated more like a Princess, and so she was a bit more different than her brothers because of it. "What about your Uncle?" Rick questioned.

"Well, Uncle Jeff says he'll talk to Aunt Patty, but from the sounds of it, he seems willing enough to come here," Carl said with a shrug. "I think Uncle Jeff might remember...but I'm not sure. He's always been hard to read," he remarked with a roll of his eyes. His Uncle was a lot like his father in regards to being hard to read. His dad was the King at hiding his emotions behind a mask. Although the other half of the time, his father could be too emotional. There was never a steady emotional reaction in regards to his father or Uncle Jeffrey.

"I also talked to moms siblings too, but they couldn't come out either," Carl added. He had kind of expected that to happen too. He didn't know his mother's family as well as he did his father's. That was mostly because of how they were raised and their wealth. They always kind of treated everyone else differently. As if they were better than them.

Rick had expected that, as much as he hadn't wanted to. It was going to be harder to save people when they find it hard to believe what was going to happen. Or get them to leave their daily lives. It wasn't surprising that Lori's siblings couldn't come, they had their own lives and didn't know what was going to happen. Even though he had lived through it he still had trouble believing it wasn't just an extremely intense nightmare at times. "Alright," he sighed with a nod. "We'll figure another way to save them. Or leave them on their own,"

Lori grimaced at Rick's remark. "We have to try something Rick," she replied with a frown. Those were sisters and brothers he was talking about. They had to try and save them. She had nieces and nephews, and her parents to try and keep alive. They had to do something.

"And we will," Rick soothingly responded to his wife as he gripped her hand in a short reassuring squeeze. Lori nodded slowly and leaned back against the couch beside him. He would do what he could to save her family and his sister. Maybe he could get someone from the group that remembered to help him save his sister and Lori's family. He knew Riley had lived in Virginia before the outbreak started, but had been in Georgia for something when the global outbreak happened.

"I called Riley," Carl blurted out before he could stop himself. All three adults turned their attention to Carl. Each one of them raised an eyebrow in question. Shane and Lori weren't sure why it was so important that he had talked to Riley, but Rick merely smiled and looked curiously at his son.

"Riley Teller?" Shane asked in surprise. He remembered the blonde vividly. He had left quite an impression on him and their group. The teenager had been a parent to his younger brothers and son, and hadn't been afraid to tell the adults that tried to bud into his raising of his brothers and son to "fuck off". Riley had been a force to be reckoned with and had no problem telling anyone what he thought. If Shane remembers it correctly, Riley had been the one that found them medical supplies during a supply run that first go around. He had also been the one to come across Rick first, before he reached Atlanta. Riley had also found cans and dried foods from a large warehouse type store for their group. That kid had the best of luck when it came to finding supplies.

"Yeah...he remembers…" Carl replied hesitantly, even while butterflies twirled around in his stomach at the thought of his older partner. "He said he'll be driving down here with his brothers and Eli," he added with a small smile. Abel, along with Conner Asher, had been his best friend during the global outbreak. "He should get here late evening or night and that he wanted to talk to you dad. Says he has some ideas that he wants to go over with you,"

Rick's smile grew across his lips at the thought of seeing Riley Teller again. The younger man had been like another son to Rick, someone that he was proud of to call family. It was refreshing to hear that he remembered, though it made Rick feel sorrow to know why he could remember. From what he's understood so far, those that have remembered had died in the other timeline. Though Rick wondered if that was going to be the case for everyone, or if only particular people will remember.

Rick remembered suddenly the conversation he and Jenner had back in the alternate timeline. Jenner had mentioned that many of the other countries had also lost power like they had, but France, Russia, and Italy had held out the longest, before they too had succumbed to the overwhelming power of this disease. They could never figure out whether it was a virus, bacteria, or something else, but they did know that everyone ended up infected with it during the months that led up to the global outbreak. It had been daunting, to realize that 90% of the world's population died by becoming Walkers, that so many people fell to the power of it. Over the next couple of years, the other 9% had either been murdered by other people, committed suicide, or fought with each other over supplies. It was not just in the United States that this occurred, but everywhere. The first time he had heard about this, it had been difficult to wrap his mind around the fact that only 1% of the world's population would survive this global outbreak.

Knowing what he had lived through, it made him twice as determined to get this safe place built for his family and those that needed a safe place to live. While he would never be able to trust people like he once had, not after what he and his family have been through, he was willing to give them a chance, but only one.

It made him curious if Jenner might remember what was going to happen in a few months time. To have scientists and other medical doctors with them this time, it'd be a goldmine for the group. Especially with how frequent an injury could happen or someone getting an illness. He still vividly recalled the Prison and the outbreak that happened inside. How that virus had caused many to die, and turn into Walkers. That pandemic had been difficult to manage with limited medical supplies. This time he planed on hoarding their supplies. He was going to ensure that they were self sufficient and had enough supplies to last them years.

"I got the process going' to get the insurance money Rick, but it's gonna take a couple of days," Shane stated as he leaned forward. His arms rested against his knees while his hands gripped each other. "Have ya thought 'about using' the Sheriff Department's funds?" He asked his best friend with curiosity.

"Good, that's real good," Rick nodded to himself at the news, his mind was already running with thoughts and ideas again. "I have thought about it," Rick said, " I'm thinking' of speaking with Sheriff Stilinski, get him on our side," he added with consideration. "He's a smart man, it may take a bit of talkin', but I think he'll come round."

"That might work," Shane agreed hesitantly. He wasn't completely sold on the idea. If it was a good idea, but he was going to trust Rick's judgement. The man had the survival instincts to last in the world when it went all to hell. His moral code was something to be inspired by. Even if that wasn't always the case, it was close enough most of the time.

"I talked to my parents Rick," Lori stated, once she saw the two men were done speaking. "My father says that I still have that black card he gave me, that I can use it for whatever I want, that it doesn't have a limit."

Rick and Shane shared a look. Their expressions equally showing how it still could surprise them how easily Thomas Wayne was with giving his money away. "Don't know why that still surprised me," Rick said with a shake of his head. Being related to such wealthy folks, who had so much money, left his head reeling. Lori had moved to Kings County, when she was in the ninth grade, with her parents and younger brother and sister when Mr. and Mrs. Wayne wanted to get out of the city. It wasn't until he was a senior and Lori a freshman in High School that they were introduced by Jeffrey. It was love at first sight for Rick. He had thought she was the one, and she had been, for a time.

"That's good, now we should start heading over to Hershel's, it's just about 9 o'clock and I talk 'im we'd be there about 10," They were all dressed in their daily clothes and ready to leave. They just had to head out and head to the Greene Farm.

**Georgia State Highway 74 to Interstate 85**

"Fuckin' asshole," Rick cursed as he had to abruptly slam on the breaks as another vehicle cut him off. The group of four were forced forwards, only held back by the seat-belts they all wore. It had been a change, having to wear a seat-belt when for so long no one had ever really felt the need. It was their saving grace at the moment, from any bruised heads. Rick pressed down the horn and flipped the car off in front of him. Fuck people and their goddamn need to drive as fast as possible without using blinkers. Everyone was in such a rush to get to the places they needed to get to, that they cared little for the accidents they might cause.

Rick was quickly starting to remember why he was thankful about the dissemination of most of the population. It was a lot easier to drive without having to deal with others on the road. Rick could hear the snickering of Shane and Carl in the backseat as they laughed at his misery. The pair had always been close, before the outbreak. Shane had been the cool Uncle that Carl had looked up. Of course, Carl had looked up to Rick too, wanting to be like him and live up to his expectations for a time. Lori sat in the passenger seat while gripping the door handle, but still giggling at the frustration and irritation that was coming off Rick in waves.

He had forgotten about how horrible traffic was and the other people's driving. With eight years worth of not having to deal with other cars on the road, cutting him off any chance they got, it was jolting and shocking to suddenly have to follow the rules of the road again. He couldn't drive above a certain speed limit in certain areas. He had to stop at stop lights and stop signs, he had to use a blinker to change lanes, the list went on and on. When the world went all to hell, the only plus to it all was not having to deal with other assholes on the road. Unless it was another "villain" of the day they were worrying about, as Carl had so aptly put it a long time ago.

Rick gripped the steering wheel tightly as he restrained himself from shoving people off the road with the force of his white 2008 GMC Sierra 1500 truck. _You will not push people off the road because they don't know how to ducking drive_, he thought to himself as a mantra. He could not use violent force now just because people were pissing him off. The world wasn't going to Hell yet. It wasn't acceptable behavior in polite society. It'd been a long time since he'd been a society unuse to not having to resort to violence. Rick cracked his neck as he attempted to loosen his stiff muscles.

Lori smiled in amusement as she shook her head at Rick. she could still remember the "Ricktatorship", as their group had fondly called it, during those winter months, after the fall of the Greene Farm. That was the first time she'd seen this new side of her husband that she'd never seen before. She gently patted his thigh in reassurance. She could see how he was barely holding on his temper that was wanting to release. She could tell it was killing Rick to have to follow the rules of the road again, after so much time without.

"You alright there Rick?" Shane chuckled with a smirk.

"I'm fine," Rick grumbled irritably.

"You don't look fine dad," Carl replies with a chuckle at the irritation in his voice.

"I haven't killed anyone yet," Rick shot back, "so I'm fine," Carl would only nod his head in assent. That was true, his father tended to shoot first and ask questions later when it came to people that pissed him off or that he distrusted. For his dad to be restraining himself, it did show that he was doing better then most.

The background noise of the cars radio station was discussing the recent news. "This is LilMiss Anarky and I'm your radio host for the day," the radio host began with a husky drawling tone of voice. "It appears some crazy shit is happenin' in the world right now," she said. Rick reaches out and turns the dial up, allowing the voice to echo within the truck as a sudden silence fell over the small group.

"From what stories are sayin' people are sayin', there's an illness going around," the radio host said in a smooth voice. "Sounds like we best be hopin' that the doctors in white get a vaccine to handle this issue."

Rick, Carl, Shane, and Lori listened quietly as the radio host began to discuss other news occurring in the world. The four shared a look, each thinking about quickly about how this illness would only be getting worse in the coming months. Rick presses his foot down on the gas pedal, going just that little bit faster.

**Senoia, Georgia **

Rick drove down the familiar highway, filled now with cars driving both ways, rather than a congested highway he remembered. The previous time, they had lost Sophia here, from a small herd that they had encountered for the first time. The realization in that moment, made Rick release just how green they had been, dealing with a large congregation of Walkers, in that first year. It had taken years and experience for them all to finally understand how to truly survive in the hellish world they found themselves in.

It was like muscle memory as Rick turned onto the dirt road that led to the Greene Farm. The truck meandered down the road, driving over dips, bumps, and holes on the dirt road. The windows within the truck were rolled down, emitting the smell of blooming spring flowers, damp fields of pasture, the rustling of branches as the trees swayed with the breeze, and the scent of nature in all its glory. The smells of flowers and various crops tickled their noses lazily as the breeze smoothly whipped the vehicle, leaving a sense of calm in its wake.

Rick hadn't truly realized how stressed and how stiff his muscles had been until he felt himself relax with the familiar smell of the farm. If there had ever been a time and place that felt like home, even with all the stress and complications they had experienced, it was the Greene Farm. No place had truly left Rick feeling comfortable. Even Alexandria had never really made him experience a sense of home, not like the Greene Farm.

Bright blue eyes glanced over at Lori, and he smiled at the look of content across his wife's face. Her eyes were closed and her head leaned back against the seat as the wind made her hair lazily dance around her face. He was glad to see her relaxed, ever since this morning there's been a heaviness pressing down on her shoulders. Rick glanced back at the windshield to ensure he wasn't going to crash, before his eyes quickly glanced up at the rearview mirror. At the sight that he found, he couldn't help but chuckle softly at Carl. He looked his age, from how he had his upper body partly hanging over the window. His eyes were squinted against the warm breeze, his head slightly tilted back as he seemingly enjoyed the smells and familiar landscape. Rick looked next to Shane, only to see his friend was also appearing to enjoy the relaxing atmosphere. He was slouched in the backseat, his head tilted back and a small smile gracing his lips.

It was this contentment that made Rick desire to build the safe place at the farm. He didn't want his family to have to go through that stress and terror again, not if he could help it. The horrors that they had been through last time, he didn't want them to have to be forced to endure it again. Rick turned the truck onto the wrap around driveway that led up to the Greene Farm house. A smile spread across the Deputy Sheriffs lips as the familiar figure of Hershel Greene stepping out onto the porch met his eyes. The blue eyed man pulled the car into a stop and shut the engine off, leaving a calm quiet to follow.

As if in an unspoken gesture, the group of four stepped out of the truck and onto the dirt driveway. "Rick," Hershel greeted with a smile as he stepped down the porch steps. The two men met in the muscle and with little fanfare, Rick pulled the man into a hug. It was a hug much like how Rick had felt from his own father. It was altogether comforting and warm.

"Hershel, I'm glad to see your familiar face again," Rick replies with a forceful blink of tear filled eyes as the two men pulled apart.

Hershel smiled at Rick, before his attention was pulled to the three figures standing behind him. "Carl," he greeted warmly. Carl merely smiled before lunging for a hug. Hershel's strong arms around around the young boy that he had considered family. "It's good to see you again," he said while the two pulled away.

"You too Hershel, it's really good to see you again," Carl replied with his own blue eyes shimmering with held in tears. He still could recall with vivid recollection Hershel's death and the way the air had left his chest. He had lost another member of his family, and it had hurt.

"It's good to see you Lori," Hershel greeted Rick's wife with a small friendly smile.

"Hershel, it's good to see you again," Lori replied with an equally warm smile. During her pregnancy with her second child, she had an attentive ear with Hershel. He was someone who had become a close companion for Lori, willing to listen to her woes.

"Shane," Hershel said with a small nod to the dark haired man. He wasn't sure how to react to Shane, particularly when he could still recall clearly how Shane had acted the first time. However, as his blue eyes looked over the other younger man, he could see that he had coherence and sanity within his dark eyes.

"Hershel," Shane replied with a small smile. He felt uncomfortable and could hear the unsaid words behind Hershel's greeting. But Shane wasn't sure what to do about that at the moment.

"Follow me," the older farmer said as he turned from the small group and began making his way towards his farm house. It had been in his family for generations and he loved his farm. He hoped they'd be able to protect it this time. "I heard from Riley," he explained to the group as the climbed up the porch steps.

Carl's attention immediately shifted to the older man with interest. Rick merely smiled to himself, while Lori and Shane looked on in confusion at the reaction Carl had to Riley's name, and the mellow reaction Rick had. _What was going on here that they didn't know?_ The pair wondered with furrowed eyebrows and a frown gracing their lips.

"And he informed me he was going to be here around 6. Some traffic on the way here has delayed his arrival," Hershel continued to explain to the group. As if he wasn't aware of the reactions going on between the four behind him. He may be old, but he wasn't oblivious. "Now come on and meet my wife and some of my children," he said with a warm smile. He was honestly thrilled to finally have his second family meet his first, while he knew Rick, Carl, Lori, and Shane knew Maggie and Beth, they never got to meet his wife and his other children lived off in other states, with their own lives and family. He only hoped he would be able to see them again and save them too. Although, he wasn't sure if they had survived the first time or not.

* * *

**Author Note**: Yet another chapter I have finished. I honestly forgot to post this one here on Fanfiction, as I have some other stories from here, and a few new ones, on AO3 with the same username, TheWeepingRaven, that I tend to post to first. While also attempting to move stories over to AO3, and editing them to my liking as well. So, if you would like to see the information I've posted for the characters and their families that will make an appearance, just go to that site and look for my username and the story "I Found". It'll give you a glimpse of some of them that I've posted so far.

Also, this story will have various minor crossovers of different television series and movies, that could honestly actually work in the Walking Dead verse, but it won't be blatantly obvious and it's mostly the characters that will make the appearance in the story. Considering this story is all about survival and trying to succeed in surviving what is to come.

Can anyone guess what three verses have been mentioned already? One was rather obvious, the second was just a character I used from one, and the third one was not really evident, unless you're a fan of it.

Anyways, this isn't my most favorite or greatest chapter I've written, but it keeps the story moving along.

I hope you all enjoyed it.

TheWeepingRaven


	5. The Day Moves On

**Fayetteville, Georgia**

**Early Morning**

"Bye Mama! See you later!" Sophia hollered over her shoulder as she dashed out the front door of her family's small one story home. The old oak door slammed shut behind her, leaving the distant sound of her mother yelling her goodbye to Sophia.

The twelve-year-old blonde raced down the walkway of her front yard and out to the yellow school bus idling in front of her house. The school buses doors were already open for the girl, as she jogged up the three steps. "Good morning Ms. Trisha," Sophia greeted with a charming smile upon her face. It was all fake of course, she always showed a bright and bubbly girl to those at her school, to deter any unwanted questions. Nothing angered her father more, then others trying to bud into his families lives.

How she loathed her father, but at the same time, he absolutely terrified her. She could see that dark look in his eyes, when he looked at her sometimes. It reminded her of an angry animal, like old Mr. Milton's Great Dane, which was aptly named Bear, who always barks aggressively at those bullies that taunt him every time they walk past. Bear gets that same angry look in his eyes when he sees those bullies and she's always afraid to see what would happen if that big ol' dog finally snapped.

"Good Mornin' Sophia," Ms. Trisha greeted in her gentle southern drawl, as she closed the doors to the bus and shifted gears. Sophia took a seat in the front, right across from where Ms. Trisha could see here. "Did you have a good morning so far?" The elderly black women asked the shy young girl. Ms. Trisha's dark brown eyes had seen the shadows in the girls own lighter brown eyes, a sign that she had clearly been through some shit. If it was anything like what Ms. Trisha went through as a child, it isn't any wonder that she is so shy and quiet.

"Yeah, it was fine," Sophia nodded with a hum as she looked out the bus window, watching the scenery blur by as a cacophony of noise, from people going about their busy lives, seeped in through the open windows. As the bus trudged along, a cool spring breeze blew through windows, and brought the scent of blooming flowers, and made a small smile curled her lips. She loved the scent of flowers blooming in the spring, but it was shadowed by the young girl wondering how many of the people in Fayetteville that would die again when the outbreak happened.

The bus came to a stop at one of pick up areas and opened its doors to allow a small group of children onboard. They brought a bedlam of noise as the children clamored down the bus aisle and took their seats throughout it. There were two young girls that followed after the louder group of children. The older girl was Sophia's age while the other younger girl was about eight years old. The two sisters took a seat across from where Sophia sat and gave a friendly smile. "Hi Sophia," the older dark brown haired girl greeted with a small wave. Her green eyes were the hue of new spring growth, bright and soft all at once. There were flecks of strength, of the kind of green that comes only as summer advances. She had an amiability and charm to her that made her immediately likable to anyone who met her.

"Hi Faith, hi Grace." Sophia replied with a friendly smile. She liked Faith Williams as a friend. She was kind, friendly, and stood up to the bullies that thought it was okay to try and pick on Sophia. Her friend Faith has moved into the small town nearly six months ago. Sophia knows her friend is the daughter of a Detective Sergeant who lives in New Jersey, where she used to live, until her parents got divorced when she was six-years-old. Faith's mother then remarried when she was eight-years-old. While her parents may have been split, Faith and her sister Grace still saw their father on a regular basis, often getting every other weekend and certain holidays to spend time with their father and paternal family members. It was a recent decision to have them move to Fayetteville so her step-father could be closer to his job.

"Hi Sophia," Grace Williams greeted shyly. Her dark brown hair, the same color as her older sister's, was pulled back in an intricate braid that her mother had put up for her this morning. Her brown eyes were a deep, earthy brown - the color of the earth after torrential rains and they shined with warmth as she looked at Sophia.

Faith, Sophia knew, was very protective of her friends and younger sister. She was a lot like her father, as Faith's mother Rachel had bemoaned at times. Particularly when Faith was getting into fights because she didn't like how someone was treating her friends. _She was a good person to have as a friend_, Sophia decided. As the three girls conversed between each other, talking about whatever came to mind, Sophia came to a decision on telling Faith what she had experienced in that alternate timeline. _I just hope she believes me_, Sophia thought to herself with anticipation.

The old yellow school bus pulled to a stop in front of their small elementary school that consisted of kindergarten to eighth grade students. It was a small town and so it had a small population that made it so they only needed two schools to fit the amount of children and teenagers that lived in it.

Sophia, Faith, and Grace waited for the other children to clamber off the bus. Then they stood stood from the seats and trailed after the other students. "Bye Ms. Trisha, I hope you have a wonderful day!" The young blonde called out with a smile and wave as she raced down the steps of the school bus and headed toward the school. Faith and Grace went along behind their friend with a call of goodbye to their bus driver. Sophia didn't hear what the bus driver called out in response to her goodbye. She was already too far away and distracted with the thoughts racing through her mind.

As Sophia ran to her classroom that she shared with her friend Faith, she wondered how her friend would react when she told her what was supposed to happen in only a couple of months. She already had a vague plan on how to contact Mr. Rick. She would use the time they had in the library/computer lab today to get the information she needed to reach him. Maybe, with Faith helping her too, Sophia would have a greater chance at succeeding with her plan.

**Duluth, Georgia **

**Early Morning**

Merle parked the old ford truck in a parking spot a few stores down from the library, his intended destination. Daryl raised an eyebrow at his brother in surprise, his expression silently saying what he wouldn't speak out.

"Keep it tah yerself lil' bro," the older man ordered at his younger brothers judging look. "Ah know what a goddamned library is," he snapped with a roll of his eyes as he hopped out of the truck and slammed the door shut behind him.

Daryl scoffed and shook his head at his big brother's words. He highly doubted that. He couldn't recall the last time his brother had ever been to a library before. "Wat you need from a library anyways?" He asked as he followed Merle down the sidewalk.

"A computer and internet numbnuts," Merle responded with a look of irritation in his blue eyes. "Wat yah think I needed? A good book?" He grumbled with a shake of his head as he punched the younger Dixon in the shoulder. It was nowhere near as hard as he could have punched him, but it still caused the younger to wince. Merle wasn't looking to try and hurt his baby brother. That sort of thing had never been something he was interested in. He had always been and tried to be a protector for his mother and baby brother from his asshole of a father.

"Big words for yah Merle," Daryl muttered with a smirk of amusement at the older Dixon. He was surprised that his brother even knew what a computer was, let alone the internet.

The brothers stepped into the small locale library and headed directly for the computers. The cashier near the front merely stared in surprise at the Dixon brothers in a library. They had honestly thought the Dixon's were allergic to a place like this. Since the two brothers were notorious for causing trouble within their small town and never had they actually stepped into a library. That wasn't to say the Dixon brothers were stupid, far from it, but they certainly didn't find any enjoyment in books.

Merle plopped down in one of the wooden chairs in front of an empty computer. Daryl followed his example and took a seat beside him in an empty chair. The older brother quickly typed; _Sheriff Deputy Rick Grimes' contact phone number to reach him?_, into the search engine box and clicked the enter keyboard key. Immediately the webpage began to load as it searched for the information.

"Who's Rick Grimes?" Daryl asked in his southern drawl, which gave Rick's name a twang to it. His eyebrows furrowed as he leaned his head forward to take a closer look at the screen and the information that was popping up regarding this Rick fellow. Daryl glanced at his big brother, who has been acting damn weird ever since he woke up this morning. "And why do yah want to get in contact with ah Sheriff Deputy for?"

Merle ignored Daryl's question as he grabbed a pencil and a pad of paper to write the number to reach Officer Friendly at his workplace. The older Dixon figured he'd have better luck getting some contact information from the police department. As much as he hated the thought of talking to pigs, he needed to get in contact with Rick. While he and Officer Friendly never got on well, he had seen how much the other man had cared for his baby brother, and how much Darlena had cared about Rick and the others.

The older Dixon reached into his jeans pocket and pulled out a small disposable phone. It was a cheap little piece of crap, but it was all he could afford. Unlike his baby brother, he didn't have a steady source of income. Nor did he have their mother's support on his particular choices he's made in life.

Merle flipped the phone up and dialed the number he'd written down. Daryl watched this all quietly. He was unsure about this odd behavior Merle was exhibiting, but what was he going to do? He couldn't let the other man go off in some half cocked scheme that was likely going to get him arrested. Someone with intelligence needed to be around to rein his brother in, as much as one could rein in Merle Dixon.

However, he had to consider his job and how taking time off might just bite him in the ass later. What should he do though? Just let Merle on the loose on his own? What if he got in trouble and arrested? If Daryl was there, at least there would be a modicum of possibility that he could ensure his brother didn't get arrested and sent to jail. The younger Dixon groaned and rubbed his face. He was going to regret going along with this.

"Ah'm tryin' to reach Deputy Sheriff Rick Grimes," his older brother was saying into the phone. Daryl watched as his brother rolled his eyes at whatever was said. "Then I'll leave ah message for 'im." Merle grunted with a huff of irritation. "Yah ready yet?" He asked with impatience. Whatever was said had his older brother nodding. "Good, tell Officer Friendly that his ol' friend Merle is gonna be leavin' the states and not to get his panties in a bunch. That I'll be keepin' Darlena wit' me and get in touch wit' 'im when I get back."

Merle hung up the phone and turned to his baby brother. He could see the wariness in his green eyes as he stared into his blue eyes. The older Dixon grinned and Daryl frowned harder.

"Where we going Merle?" He asked warily. He had work and a goddamn life. While he didn't have the time to follow his older brothers out of the states, he knew he was going to have to. Otherwise god knew his Mama would have his head for letting Merle get into trouble. Merle was a force to be reckoned with on his best days. Daryl knew how to manage him to a certain degree. He'd just have to take time off work to follow him into his half-cocked scheme.

"We're going to Mexico lil' bro."

**Atlanta, Georgia**

**Midtown**

**Mid Morning**

Jacqui Prescott hung the phone up as she left a message to Kings County Police Department's secretary for Rick. She had given the woman on the other end of the phone her cell number and a short message. In her message she had requested that Rick call her back at his earliest convenience. It was all she could do, when she found out he wasn't at work that day. While she wanted to get an immediate response from Rick, so she could figure out what to do next, Jacqui knew she should take the responsibility herself and figure out what to do, but she was hesitant. _What if she chose the wrong thing_? It was a thought that nagged at the back of her mind. Along with wondering if what she dreamed about was true at all. Sure, Rick Grimes existed, but what if she just made some elaborate story in her mind about everything?

She scoffed to herself and shook her head. She was overthinking things, she decided as she stepped out into the hallway from her bedroom. Further out into the apartment, she could hear the sound of clinking dishware and voices, _perhaps from a television_? She wondered as her walked further down the hall. Her footsteps were soft and quiet against the carpeted flooring. Dark brown eyes didn't remain in one place as she scanned the hallway walls. Her eyes looked at every hanging family picture with an ache in her heart.

The dying screams of her mother and younger brother's echoed in her mind while tears glistened in her eyes. The hungry moans of the dead and the agony her family had to have been in, made Jacqui roughly shake her head as she inhaled slowly and then exhaled in an attempt to overcome the sudden grief that struck her fiercely in her chest. It was hard to breathe for a moment, as her mind attempted to gain order once again. She couldn't, no she wouldn't allow her family to die this time. She wasn't going to see them be torn apart and eaten alive again. Jacqui didn't think she would be able to handle it.

"Good morning baby," Jacqui's mother greeted her oldest child from where she sat at the breakfast table. Her caramel colored skin balanced her pretty green eyes perfectly. Even with her mother being in her sixties, her appearance portrayed her as being in her late forties or early fifties. It amazed Jacqui often, how healthy and active she still was and how beautiful she still is.

"Good morning Mama." Jacqui replied with a smile and a kiss to her mother's cheek, as she walked past her sitting at the kitchen table, to make a cup of coffee. "Did Raoul, Laurent, and Auguste leave already?" She asked curiously. Her dark brown eyes focused on making her coffee, rather than facing her mother's steady and questioning gaze.

"Raoul went to the VA early this mornin', while Laurent went job huntin'," Jacqui's mother explained as she took a sip of her hot tea. "Lord knows if he'll have any luck, just gettin' released from prison and all." Nadine Prescott sighed with a shake of her head. Curly brown locks of hair tumbled down her back at the movement. "That boy has about as much sense as your daddy did."

Jacqui snorted a quiet laugh at her mother's remark. "Which would be none then," she responded dryly. She took a seat on a dark brown cushioned chair at the kitchen table and set her mug of coffee down in front of her quietly. Her mind was still lost on her nightmares, which she was strongly beginning to truly believe were not nightmares at all, but a life she had lived, as hard as that is to swallow.

Nadine looked at her oldest child, and only daughter, with concern in her green colored eyes. Her daughter was different this morning, haunted and hunted, was the only way she could explain or describe it. "Auguste is at one of his early morning classes," she added with a small smile. She was proud of her youngest son. He was nearly done studying for his Masters degree to become an Orthotists and Prosthetists professional, who built and fit prosthetics, and helped their patients find the right devices to improve their mobility, independence, and quality of life.

Jacqui merely smiled at her mother's pride. Out of her and her brother's, she knows her mother favors her youngest brother. Auguste has always been the "Golden Boy" in their family. He was the one that made all the right choices in life, in her mother's eyes. Her youngest brother had graduated Valedictorian and had received a scholarship for college through the soccer team he played on during High School. Auguste could do no wrong in Nadine Prescott's eyes.

"Are you doin' alright Jacqui?" Nadine asked her daughter with concern. "You seem a little...off," she added with a frown gracing her graciously aging face.

"I'm fine Mama," she replied with a deep sigh. "I was actually thinking of learning how to shoot and taking a few self defense classes." Jacqui said with a thoughtful countenance. She had decided suddenly, while taking a sip of her coffee, that she was going to learn to handle a gun and be able to defend herself before the world decided to end. While doing this, she would also begin stocking up on supplies and leave them in a secure location. Perhaps she'd leave them with Rick, once she was able to get in contact with him.

**Atlanta, Georgia**

**Virginia, Highlands**

**Mid Morning**

Jim Rothenberg did what he could to get in contact with Rick Grimes. He had decided to send him an email at his workplace, having figured it might just be one of the faster methods to get in contact with him. He had left his phone number in the email, letting Rick know he could contact him that way as well. Now, the mechanic sat at the kitchen table with his wife and children, while eating a delicious breakfast of scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, and hashbrowns with buttered toast. Content brown eyes watched as his daughter Kaitlyn, and his two sons Tobias and Jedidah, bickered amongst each other about what movie they wanted to watch when they got home from school.

It was a sound he had missed desperately, during the outbreak. Having lost his wife and children the way he did. Looking at his daughter Kaitlyn, who had hair as red as her mothers and eyes as dark as his sent a jolt of pain in his heart. She was only fourteen-years-old and smart as a whip. As much as she acted like her younger brothers irritated and annoyed her, Kaitlyn had died in her attempt to save Tobias and Jedidah, during the initial outbreak in the alternate timeline. Being able to see her alive now, made him realize how much he had missed his daughters sarcasm and act of being annoyed with her brother's.

Tobias is ten-years-old and dark haired liked Jim, but he had his mother's grey eyes. His oldest boy revelled in causing mass mayhem and havoc given half a chance. Toby is often pulling pranks of some sort and creating mechanisms that would be a part of his pranks. His son is smart, but Jim wished he'd put more effort into learning then pulling his outrageous pranks.

Jedidiah is eight-years-old and also dark haired like Jim and had his mother's grey eyes as well. His youngest boy loves to play outside. Jim could often see him playing out front with the other neighborhood kids. As soon as the sun was raised in the sky Jed was outside and would only come inside to eat and when he was desperately having to go to the restroom. His youngest would stay outside all day given half a chance, and only came in with the street lights turned on it he was called inside for dinner.

With this second give at life, Jim appreciates his children's differences and behaviors more than he previously did. He was happy to see them bicker and fight over something like a movie. He was going to do whatever it took to make sure that they remained alive. Brown eyes looked across the table and connected with grey eyes that held exasperation in them at the antics of their children. Jim chuckled at the familiar expression. Gods, how he missed his family.

Jim sighed at his thoughts turned to his sister and her family. He has a twin sister Danielle, who's been married to her husband Jackson for eighteen years. Dani is the chef and owner of La Gallerie du Coq, it's a high end restaurant that served a variety of food and resides in Virginia Highlands. Her husband Jackson is a Construction Manager and a sought after one at that.

His sister and her husband had six children altogether. They had, _no they have three daughters and sons_, Jim thought to himself, _they're still alive_. The oldest of the children was Annaleigh, known as "Annie" to everyone, is seventeen-years-old and a firecracker on her best days. Then there was Miles, who is thirteen-years-old, and obsessed with girls and football. Next was Cooper, who is ten-years-old, and into superheroes and action figures. Following after Cooper was Laura, who is seven-years-old, and still in the faze of playing with Barbie dolls. After Laura was Grayson, who is four-years-old, and loved children Nickelodeon shows. The youngest of the children was little Elouisa who is two-years-old, and from what he could recall, she was in her terrible two stages full swing.

_Could he possibly save them too_? Jim wondered as he considered the difficulties that could prove. They had died during the initial outbreak, when they had been attempting to leave the city. He shuddered at the memories of the mass chaos and screams of terror that inflicted his mind. He had to attempt to save them. They were his family after all.

Jim stood from the kitchen table and began to bring the dishes to the kitchen sink. He rolled up his sleeves and filled the sink with warm water and soap. Grabbing a sponge he picked up a plate and started to scrub away breakfast.

"Bye daddy!"

"Bye dad!"

"See ya Pops."

The voices of his children speaking in unison brought Jim from his contemplating. He looked up and over to the side, to where his three children were making their way to the front door. "Bye kids! See ya later!" Jim called out with a smile. "Try and have a nice day!" He added, when his memory reminded him of the troublemakers his three hooligans are.

"Bye Jim," his wife added as she stepped into the living room dressed in her scrubs that has the Winnie the Pooh characters on it. Their oldest child, Kaitlyn, had loved Winnie the Pooh as a child. She had all the VCR movies, books, and toys. Jessica has also come to love the characters of the children's tales too and now has a variety of scrubs with Winnie the Pooh characters on them. Sometimes it was all the characters or just a single character on the scrubs.

Jessica works as a Pediatric ICU Travel Registered Nurse (RN), which meant she prioritized and monitored the patients with high-acuity conditions and reported the results to the pediatrician. PICU RNs also act as liaisons between the physicians and the patients' families, as well as other medical staff. She was the best at her job, if he did say so himself.

"Bye Jessie love, I hope you have a good day." Jim replied with a smile. The couple shared a quick but sweet kiss, before she turned away, purse over her shoulder and car keys in her hand, and was out the front door with it slamming shut with a click.

Jim turned back to the dishes while his mind went back over to what he could do to prepare for the end of the world. What could he do to ensure the safety and well-being of his family and the group? He was a mechanic, and he knew his vehicles. He had his cousins, Cooter and Brian, who currently worked with him at his garage. They could definitely help him build some vehicles to withstand the Walkers. He could find trucks, and other big vehicles like SUVs, and soup them up. He'd make them better by increasing their power, efficiency, and impressiveness.

He set the last clean dish onto the dish rack to dry and unplugged the sink drain. It made a loud gurgle and began to suck the soapy grey water down the drain. Setting the sink stopper off to the side, he washed his hands before grabbing a towel and drying them. He leaned against the counter and held the dish towel in his hands, twisting it into a knot as he thought over his ideas.

His wife's brother, Colin was also a mechanic, and his wife's sister, Stephanie had been married to a mechanic named Owen. Colin and Owen currently worked at his garage too. Colin has been a long time car thief, and had been released from prison after half a decade inside, and needed help to support his daughter, Mikaela, who Jim and Jessica had raised while Colin was in prison, since his wife had abandoned them when Mikaela was just a year old. Owen had fallen apart after his wife's death, so they had to step up and care for Kaylee, and also give Owen a job at Jim's garage. Currently Mikaela and Kaylee also worked in the garage while attending community college. With the help of the six of them, Jim knew they could build quite a few vehicles in time for the outbreak.

Smiling at his plan set in his head, Jim pushed away from the counter, hung the dish towel on a towel rack, and reached for his cellphone on the counter. He had a few family members to talk with. He just hoped they would believe him, or at least go along with his crazy plan.

**Atlanta, Georgia**

**Centennial Hill**

**Late Morning**

Glenn laid out on the couch, forcing his breathing in and out slowly as he tried to gain control over himself, after his brief mental breakdown. His stomach muscles clenched in pain from his dry heaving and his body shook from the turmoil it had gone through. He'd forgotten how much it sucked going through a state of vomiting. The last time he had been sick like this, was when he had gotten that virus at the prison and nearly died in the process. That had been one hell of a few weeks for him.

The twenty-six-year-old sighed shakily and pushed himself into a sitting position. His sister was late for school, but he honestly couldn't find it in himself to care at that moment. "You need to take your Meds Lily," he said while running a hand through his mussed up hair.

Lily frown and a grimace of distaste graced her features. She hated taking her medicine. While she knows it's to help with her pain because of her burn scars, and the damage it caused her nerves and muscles, she didn't like how they made her feel. "I don't like them," she muttered with a scowl.

Glenn sighed again, "I know you don't Lils, but it's supposed to help you." He replied with a frown. He always felt guilty that he hadn't been home the night of the fire. Perhaps if he had been, he could have saved his parents lives and his youngest sister the pain of nearly being burned alive.

He pushed himself up from the couch and walked down the hallway towards the bathroom where the medicine cabinet contains Lily's pills. He grabbed the medications and carefully looked them over as he read the correct dosages she needed and poured them into his palm.

Lily glared as she took the small handful from her older brother's hand. She grabbed the bottle of water the was on the counter and unscrewed the cap. With a grimace, she carefully began to take her pills one by one until they were gone.

"Good job Lils," Glenn praised his sister with a gentle ruffle of her hair. Lily remained unmoved at her brothers words and instead turned to walk into the bedroom she shared with Glenn. The older man shook his head but didn't take her reaction personally. Lily had a lot of issues, having nearly died with their parents in a house fire, that had her enduring anxiety and PTSD, that left her emotionally sensitive and mentally fragile.

Lily grabbed a dark green short sleeved shirt, dark blue jeans, and socks. Glenn helped her get dressed, and grabbed her black and green tennis shoes. Green, he remembered suddenly, was Lily's favorite color. "There you go Lils," he said with a smile. "Grab your jacket and backpack so we can go." The older man knew that he would have to be careful with Lily and how he handles situations. Especially with the way the world be essentially ending, he would need to be mindful with the way he explained things to Lily. He would save her and his other sister's lives this time, but he had to make sure he did it right.

Glenn was thankful that he hadn't needed to deal with his other younger sisters, Myra or Helaine, this morning. He didn't think he'd be able to deal with all three of his younger sisters so early in the morning worrying over him. Myra, Glenn remembered, had stayed the night at her friend's house the night before to finish an assignment for class. Glenn had always had his doubts about that though. She was eighteen, and nearing closer to graduating from High School in May. He wouldn't be surprised if she had a boyfriend she wasn't and hadn't told him about. She had always been more secretive out of his sisters, ever since their parents death. Which didn't surprise him, as he knew it was her way of grieving.

Helaine, Glenn knew, had already left to head to school. His second youngest sister was a partier, and was only fourteen-years-old. It had been her way of dealing with the suddenness of their parents death, that happened nearly four years ago. She had only recently begun to act out by sneaking out to go to parties. As much as Glenn disliked the fact she partied, no matter how much he attempted to discipline her, she always rebelled harder when he tried. So, he kept a close eye on her in his effort to protect her. She was too much like Glenn's oldest younger sister Ronnie, when she was a teenager. That is until Ronnie met a soldier in a bar she worked at and fell in love with him. Glenn still couldn't wrap his mind around the fact that they had married only a couple of days after meeting each other. It still boggles his mind when he thinks about it.

Going through the motions, Glenn left the apartment with Lily and walked the few blocks to where her elementary school resides. "Bye Lils, have a good day okay?" He asked as he crouched down and hugged her tightly.

"Bye Glenn," Lily replied with a tight hug. "I'll try to if everyone else didn't act so stupid," she added with a slight twist of her lips in a parody of a smile.

Glenn chuckled and shook his head. "I love you squirt."

"Love you too Glenn." Lily turned on her heel and walked through the front office doors that allowed her access to the hallways that led to the classrooms.

Glenn watched her disappear from his sight before he turned away and walked back out into the busy city. As he walked down the bustling streets, he tried to contain the panic that wanted to surface. Cities were not a safe place to be in when the outbreak happened. The amount of Walkers that existed in the cities, it made a cold sweat want to try and break out.

His dark eyes scanned the city streets and alleyways. He remembered how bad the outbreak had been in the city. It had been a nightmare trying to get out of there. The chaos that broke out onto the streets had been terrifying and amazing all at once. The mere damage to buildings and vehicles, done by people just for the thrill of it, had made those initial days twice as deadly.

It only took a few more minutes before he was back in the apartment. Glenn collapsed on the worn couch in his small two bedroom apartment. He picked up his cellphone that he had left on the table and pulled up the search engine in one of his apps. He typed in Rick's name and watched as the results popped up. He pressed the number for Rick's workplace and dialed the number. The phone rang before a woman answered the phone, "King County Sheriff's Department, this is Cindy how can I help you?"

"Hi. My name is Glenn Rhee, I'm trying to reach Rick Grimes," he said into the mouthpiece of the cell phone.

"Sheriff Deputy Grimes isn't in today." The secretary Cindy replied. "If you would like I can leave him a message for you?"

"That would be great, thank you." Glenn replies with a nod of his head. "Can you tell him Glenn Rhee is trying to reach him and that he can reach me at this number," he added as he gave her his phone number.

"I certainly can. Is there anything else I can help you with?" She questioned in a professionally polite manner.

Glenn shook his head, before he realized she couldn't see him. "No that was it, thanks for your help." He responded respectfully.

"Okay, I hope you have a wonderful rest of your day." Cindy graciously remarked.

"Thanks, I hope you do as well." With a press of the smart phones red call button, he ended the conversation. Glenn could only hope that the older man remembered. Rick has always been the Leader of their community and group. He was someone they could turn to when they needed a problem solved. Or needed to depend on someone to take control of a situation.

Now that Glenn was alone, his mind was going over everything he had experienced before his death. It was inconceivable what he had lived through. All the pain and suffering he and his second family had experienced, it was hard to accept that it could happen again.

Did the others remember? Did Maggie or Rick recall what happened? Was everything they lived through just an intense nightmare? Had he truly lived through it or imagined it? Glenn rubbed his face tiredly. His mind was still trying to flash back to the more gruesome memories he had experienced in that other life. Losing Hershel the way they had, and everyone else before and after his death, had left a mark on him and the others. It wasn't seen visually, this scar, but it was there and it had only gotten deeper and uglier as time passed. They had all changed and it was clearly seen by how they reacted to situations. Rick, Riley, Carl, Maggie, himself, Daryl, and Michonne, among so many others, had all started to become quicker to shoot first and question later, after things seemed to grow progressively worse for them.

Glenn exhaled heavily and decided he would worry about their morality at a later time. For the moment, he needed to make plans. Medical supplies were something they needed for the outbreak. He would also start accumulating supplies they needed, like food and hygiene things. First though, he'd get in contact with his extended family. A lot of his Aunts, Uncle, and cousins worked in the medical field. Maybe he could try and see if he could get them to believe him, and get their help on acquiring medical supplies, they would need once the outbreak went global.

**Macon, Georgia **

**Late Morning**

Michael "Mike" Hardinson and Terrence "Terry" Onyango hadn't expected to awaken that day remembering a life that shouldn't have been possible. The dead walking again? Eating humans as one did a snack was not something a sane person imagined. It was one of the reasons the two friends had decided to get clean. What if the drugs were psychologically fucking with their minds? What if it was _true_? They couldn't allow themselves to fall back into the drugs, especially because it made them hazardous to others. They had gotten high back in that first timeline, during the outbreak, and it caused the death of Andre Anthony. They couldn't let that happen again.

Mike bounces his right leg gently, making Andre who was sitting on his leg, giggle hysterically. A warm grin graced the father's lips at his baby boy's joy at such a simple action. How could he possibly think drugs were more important than his son? Or the woman he loves? Or more important than his best friend who might as well be his brother. The way the drugs had consumed his life, it made him not who he is. He isn't a self-centered bastard. He cares about his family, but the drugs were changing him in ways he didn't like.

"We're really going through this?" Terry asked from his spot on a chair near the window. He was facing the couch Mike sat on, with the sunlight streaming through the row of windows on the wall to their right. His arms casually rested on the arm rest of the chair and his fingers tapped a rhythmic pattern against it, that was soothing to his restless nerves.

Mike looked away from Andre, his warm eyes turning cold as dark brown eyes connected with equally brown eyes of his best friend. "Yeah, we're really going to do this Terry," he replied. "If what we both saw is an experience that is real, then I'm not going to be the cause of my son's death, because I think drugs are more important than my family."

"I just want to make sure that you're really going to get and stay clean." Terry responded back with a hint of defensiveness in his tone. "It's going to be a rough experience," he added with a grimace. The very thought of what they were going to have to go through was nerve racking, but he knew they had to do this.

Michonne stepped into the living room. Her dark brown eyes were loving as she looked between the two men and her baby boy. "I called the Rehab Clinic," she announced with a look of pride in her eyes for the two men in front of her. It has been a constant battle for Michonne over the last couple of years, to attempt to get Mike and Terry cleaned from their drug of choice. She was glad they decided to finally take that step, but she was curious as to why they suddenly decided to now. However, she wasn't going to say anything, not if that meant they ended up changing their mind.

Michonne would give them the time they needed to get clean before she asked Mike and Terry. "They're expecting us in three days. That will give us time to pack everything up and move to the town that the clinic is in." Michonne added with a determined countenance. She had a plan already in mind. She was prepared to have everything handled within the next couple of days, just in time for them to leave for the rehab clinic.

Mike and Terry shared a look, both thinking the same thing, that Michonne was often the one to step up out of their little group and take control of the situation and figure out how to solve the problems they were facing.

"We're ready," they agreed with a nod.

Mike stood from the sofa and adjusted the hold of his son. He was cradled against his father's chest while he faced his girlfriend. "Whatever you need us to do, just let us know."

Michonne smiles at the two men. "I was hoping you'd say that," she replied. She had plans already on how she would put the two men to work.

**Center For Disease Control**

**Afternoon**

It was a hive of activity within the Center for Disease Control. Scientists and military personnel were going about their day, as Dr. Edwin Jenner casually walked through the hallways and headed towards the storage rooms that reside in the basement of the CDC. His heart raced as he glanced around and over his shoulder to check if anyone was watching him. He had to be careful how he did this. By checking the inventory, it would be his first step in his plans. He would get the exact amount of supplies the CDC had, before he moved on to his next step. His wife, Cynthia, was doing her rounds through the building. She would be checking over the names of the scientists and military personnel that resided in the building. While she attempted to recall who had left to save their families and who had been killed by the undead.

Edwin slides his identification card through the machine and presses the four digit authorization code into the device. The shining red light beeps to green and the locking mechanisms clicks as it unlocks. He grabbed the doors handle, pressing it down and stepping into the stairwell that led to the basement floor. The scientist quickly made his way down the staircase, each of his steady footsteps echoed loudly in the stairway as he walked as quickly as he could to the basement.

All morning Edwin has been going over the plan in his mind while he went about his morning like he usually would. He had to act as ordinary as possible. There was no telling what would happen to him or his wife if the government discovered that he and Cynthia remembered an alternate timeline. The mere thoughts that came to mind of what the government officials could or would do to them, made him shudder. He knew that he and his wife would be experimented on by the scientists, as they attempted to figure out how he and Cynthia remembered an alternate timeline. And it was an alternate timeline, because just having one person remember, changed how things could become.

Dr. Jenner shook the thoughts away. He didn't have time to think about that now, not when he had to use his complete attention on the matter at hand. He stepped off the last step of the staircase and stared for a moment at the door in front of him. This was it, once he went in, there was no turning back. Inhaling nervously, Edwin stepped up the door and slid his identification card through the device and pressed the four digit numbers. A few seconds passed before the red light flashed to green. He exhales a sigh of relief, they hadn't changed the code yet.

With a click that showed the door unlocking, Dr. Jenner grabbed the handle, pushing it down and then inwards on silent hinges. Brown eyes scanned the large warehouse like room in amazement. In the alternate timeline, the military personnel had taken most of the supplies in the room when they had left. They had used the elevator on the other side of the room, that was large enough to fit the crates full of supplies on it. This time, Edwin hopes that he would be able to talk to those soldiers into staying behind and leaving with him to a safer location.

He knows it might not be the most logical reasoning, as many of those soldiers had left to find their families, but he hoped that maybe he would be able to get them to believe him beforehand. Of course he would only explain it to them nearer to the date of when the outbreak began to spread globally. He felt that if he tried to explain it any sooner, the government personnel would get wind of it and attempt to get to him and his wife in an effort to find out how they remembered this other lifetime.

Edwin walked to the table beside the door that had pages worth of supplies written down on it, attached to a clipboard that had a pen hanging from it. He lifted the writing board and flipped through the pages that showed a list of supplies: First Aid Kits, Gauzes, Oral Airways, Osmometers, Surgical Sutures, Syringes, Amoxicillin, Doxycycline, Levofloxacin, Hydrocodone, Hydromorphone, Morphine, Gabapentin, Canned Vegetables, Baking Flour, Dried Rice, Yeast, and so many more items. The lists that held pages of information for the items that had to be in the hundreds would certainly help keep him and the group alive.

He looked up from the list, letting the pages fall back to the clipboard and turned to the large room. Quietly Edwin walked down the aisles with his eyes scanning the name tag on each crate of items he passed. His mind raced with possible plans that he could do to ensure the supplies remained, but each one fell flat or had some flaws in it. He would discuss it with Cynthia, once he went over the inventory. He wouldn't be able to stay down here much longer, otherwise someone would notice he was missing. Dr. Jenner knew he would have to work on getting in contact with Rick, who he hoped might remember, even if the chance was slim, when he had the chance to get away from the CDC. It wouldn't be the smartest decision to try and reach him, when he was being monitored 24 hours a day by surveillance. For now, he would work on his plan.

**Jacksonville, Florida **

**Afternoon**

Tyreese and Sasha Williams stood in the entryway of their small home. They hadn't truly considered it a home for a long time, but standing in it now, with their belongings and additional supplies all packed, it was taking them longer to leave then they had expected. They had reached out to Rick by leaving him a message at his workplace, along with their numbers so he could reach them, but now they were ready to go look for their partners from that alternate timeline. While they were trying to optimistic about their chances, they also knew they had to remain realistic. Tyreese and Sasha know it might not be as easy as they hope it will bem to find Karen or Bob, and get them to believe the siblings as well.

The Williams siblings also know they will be back, before the outbreak occurs, if only to attempt to save their neighbor, Jerry Frost, who was the survivalist that had helped them when the global outbreak first happened in the alternate timeline. He had allowed them to stay in his bunker, that he had built underneath his shed in the backyard. That bunker had, had enough supplies, especially food, that lasted them for nearly six months, until it finally ran out and they had to leave.

Their next door neighbor on the left, D.B Russell, had also stayed with them in the bunker, but had left at the same time Tyreese and Sasha did. He had wanted to go search to see if his children and grandchildren had survived the global outbreak. The siblings never did find out what happened to him, but this time they planned to make sure they helped more people than just themselves.

"We need to go Ty." Sasha said with a soft smile to her big brother. She knows it's always been harder for her brother to handle living in the world the Walkers and the survivors had turned it into. It was a kill or be killed world, with the survivors of the global outbreak making up their own rules, that were always changing. She could only hope that this time, with Tyreese remembering, he'd have an easier time of it, once the global outbreak happened.

"Right," her big brother replied with a nod. Tyreese bent down and grabbed the three bags at his feet by their straps. "We'll head towards Jefferson City and look for Bob first." Tyreese said to Sasha as he walked out the front door and to the 2009 GMC Sierra 1500 SLE pickup truck that he had been given as a gift by their father, after he had finally deemed to speak to Tyreese again, once the bigger man had retired from the NFL.

The older sibling placed the bags in the backseat of the truck with Sasha following behind him with concern in her brown eyes. She knows she's not the easiest person at times to live with, but has the feeling that something is nagging at her brother's mind. "What's wrong Ty?" She asked while placing the last bag of theirs into the backseat before stepping back with her arms folded over her chest.

Dark brown eyes connected with equally dark brown, and a silent conversation seemed to be shared between them. "Don't you think we should try to get to Dad, Mom, or even Dashiell?" He asked his younger sister with a frown. He knows they're not the closest with their parents or youngest sibling, but they hadn't gone looking for them in that alternate timeline, and a heavy feeling of guilt still rested in his chest and caused the pit of his stomach to turn at that knowledge. They had been so consumed with surviving, that they had never considered seeing if their parents or brother might have survived the global outbreak.

Sasha adjusted her weight on her feet and let her arms fall to her sides. She had honestly never considered saving their parents or brother, and it had guilt gnawing at her. She felt like a bad daughter and sister, having not even thought about their parents or Dash. Shouldn't that be one of the first things she thought about? Trying to save her family and then Bob or Karen? Instead, her mind had automatically turned to them first rather than her biological family. "We'll save them too Ty," she finally said after a long moment of silence.

"Right," he agreed in a manner that said he didn't believe her. The guilt was heavy on both their shoulders. They would work on trying to save their parents and brother this time around, as well as their neighbors, but first they had to go look for Bob and Karen.

Tyreese walked around the truck and opened the driver side of the vehicle. He hoped in and shut the door behind him once he was comfortable and buckled up. Sasha followed his lead, hopping onto the truck and adjusting herself until she rested comfortably in her seat and buckled her seat built. "Did you call the Fire Department to tell them you weren't coming in?" He asked his sister as he turned the key in the ignition. The truck rumbled to life with a roar, before settling into a quieter noise, as Tyreese let the truck warm up. He shifted the gear into reverse and glanced over his shoulder as he backed out of the driveway with a smooth turn of the wheel, and out into the street.

Sasha shrugged and nodded her head. "I called them after we left that message for Rick," she said while watching her brother shift gears into drive and steering the car down the street and out of the cul de sac they lived in. "You were starting to pack the bags while I called in," she added.

"That's good," he replied with a nod of his head. With being retired from the NFL, he had more than enough money that he didn't have to work for a long time. So he hadn't needed to concern himself with calling into work. Tyreese reached out to the stereo and turned the dials on the radio until music began to play at low volume.

There was an anticipatory feeling that hung over the siblings as they drove away from what used to be home. Now, home had been with the group of individuals that they had been living and surviving with, in that alternate timeline. They knew they would find those people again, and hoped they would become their home and family once again. But first, they needed to find their partners and save their biological family and neighbors first, before they had the opportunity to meet up with their second family, and they only had nearly three months to do it.

**Houston, Texas**

**Evening**

Abraham had been having a tough day at attempting to be as normal as possible. His children had left to school and then gone for their school activities, while his wife had gone to work and then go visit her parents. Abraham had decided not to go to work that morning and called in. He had too many concerns on his mind to deal with, and going to his boring 9 to 5 job wasn't in the works.

It had been a long and grueling process of searching online on the computer for all of his original group, before he had come across Rick and his group. Searching for Rosita Espinosa, Eugene Porter, Tara Chamblers, Holly Stewart, Josiah Powers, Stephanie Johnson, Warren Fox, Rex Balsom, Pamela Moran, Roger Walker, Dirk Pitt, and Josephine Karev, had been a task in itself. Every one of these individuals had been a part of his group at one time or another, most of them, except for Rosita, Eugene, and Tara, had died in the process of Eugene's lie in that alternate timeline.

At first, as Abraham began his research, he hadn't been entirely certain that what he had dreamed the night before had been real, but as he had written down the addresses of every one of his previous group members, he wondered what he should do next. Should he keep track of them? Maybe get in contact with them? Would they honestly believe him, considering he barely believed himself and he had lived through that shit. He rubbed his chin in thought while his dark eyes scanned the paper full of addresses and ways to contact them.

He had already made his attempt in getting in contact with Rick. He had left a message with the secretary Cindy at King's County Police Department. The message for Rick was telling him his name, and to get in contact with him at his cellphone number when he got his message. Now Abraham would have to wait and see when Rick would get in contact with him.

"Daddy?" Becca called from the other side of the closed office door. Her hand knocked gently on the wooden door, bringing Abraham from his thoughts. It was already nearing dinner time and he had the house to himself for most of the day. It had allowed him to do what he needed in peace and quiet.

"Yeah Sweet Pea?" Abraham asked as he stood from the office chair behind the desk he sat at. He walked across the room and pulled the office door open to see his youngest child looking up at him with wide hazel eyes, so similar to her mother's. His daughter could be a clone to his wife, with her blonde hair and hazel eyes.

"Auntie Beth is here," his daughter said with a smile, "she's acting weird again." Rebecca "Becca" Ford added with a furrow of her eyebrows and a frown curling her lips downwards at the corners. She never understood why her Aunt was so odd, but she figured it had to do with her being like her daddy. Her daddy was just as weird as her Aunt sometimes.

Abraham grimaced in his effort to try and smile at his daughter. He had honestly forgotten all about his younger sister Elizabeth "Beth" Ford. They didn't get along at the best of times, which mainly had to do with the fact that they were too alike. He and Beth were stubborn to the point of pigheadedness. They also tended to be short fused and hot tempered on the best of days. When they were upset about something, they didn't talk about their feelings, instead they got melancholy and self-destructive, which often led to bad things happening to the individuals that got in the line of fire.

He never knew if she had died in the alternate timeline. He had been so consumed with the "Mission" following his wife and children's death, that he hadn't honestly thought about Beth, but he liked to think that she would have survived the initial global outbreak and the years that followed. "I'll be right out Sweet Pea," he told his daughter with a nod of his head.

"Okay," the five-year-old replied before turning on her heel and running down the hallway, back to where all the noise was coming from. From where Abraham stood, he could hear the sounds of his son, Andrew Jacob, commonly known as "A.J." to family and friends, loudly and animatedly conversing with his Aunt Beth and mother Ellen.

Abraham stepped out into the hallway and closed the office door behind him. The kids and his wife knew not to go into his office when the door was shut, that he remembered well, even if it had been years for him. For now, he thought he could spend time with his family, before going back to his plans. He wanted to have some normality with them, even if it was only for a little while.

**Charlottesville, Virginia to Senoia, Georgia**

**Evening **

Riley had forgotten how much he hated traffic. He wanted the empty roads again, free of other vehicles, although he could do without the Walkers, particularly the herds that tended to crop up every once in awhile. He glanced in the rearview mirror to check on his younger brother's and son. He could see that Thomas had his head down and was reading one of the latest books in a new series he was interested in. In the middle seat was his six month old baby boy Elias, who was thankfully asleep and not causing a ruckus. He was strapped securely into his carseat. In the right of the back seat was two-year-old Harry, who had also fallen asleep at some point during their drive in his carseat.

In the passenger seat sat Abel with his headphones in his ears as he listened to whatever interested him at the current moment. Riley sighed as he switched the station to a classic rock one, something that his father used to listen to. While the pain wasn't as sharp in his chest at the thought of his father as it used to be, there was some pain still felt. He could recall though, that near the end, his father wasn't who he remembered him being as a child. Jax Teller had become different following his wife's death, mother, step-father, and brother's betrayals, the deaths he caused by his own hands, and Opie disappearing not soon after. Riley wondered if it could have been different, had all those instances not happened. He figured it was too little too late to think about it now.

For him, it had been over a decade and a half since his father's death, but for his brother's it had only been a couple of months. Riley shoved the thoughts from his mind, he didn't need to dwell on those thoughts, especially since he had his younger brothers and son alive with him again. They weren't scared yet by all the shit they had been put through with the global outbreak.

It was hours since he had begun his drive to Georgia, having went shopping for supplies that he put in the trailer he had hitched to the back of the car. He was getting closer to Georgia and he needed to stop for gas. Riley flicks his blinker turn signal on with his fingers, looks over his left shoulder, as well as to the side and rear view mirrors, and pulls off into a truck stop that was not particularly busy. He parks the car near a gas pump at the end of the rows. "Where are we?" Abel asked as he pulled out one of his headphones and looked over at his big brother.

"At a gas station," he responded as he pulled up to a pump and parked the vehicle. "Stay in the car and watch Thomas, Harry, and Elias." Riley ordered before stepping out of the car. He shut the door behind him and made his way into the gas station. His eyes roved over the parking lot and store in wariness. It still amazed Riley that it was people wandering around instead of the Walkers. It wouldn't last of course, but seeing it again, seeing so many people alive, was an eye opener. He had nearly forgotten what it was like to see this many living and breathing individuals.

"$40 on pump 8." Riley said when it was his turn to step up to the cash register. He dumped the handful of snack foods on the counter that he had grabbed for his brother's. The blonde haired male wasn't willing to stop at a diner again, having already done so twice on their trip, once to eat breakfast and the second to eat lunch. He had also stopped for various bathroom breaks for his younger brothers, and to change Eli's diaper, when it was needed. He figured that when he got to Hershel's, they'd be able to eat real food again.

"That's be $56.37," the cashier stated once she finished ringing up the total. Riley slid his debit card through the machine and pressed in his four digit number. That had taken some changing, as he had honestly forgotten the four digit pin number, it had been so long for him. He slipped the card back in his wallet and grabbed the bag of junk food and drinks.

"You can keep the receipt," he said when the cashier went to hand it to him. The cashier shrugged and tossed it in the trash can at her side. Riley walked out of the store and across the parking lot to the black 1967 Shelby Mustang GT500 Fastback, with the trailer it was tugging behind it with his father's black 2003 Harley Davidson Dyna Super Glide Sport inside of it with all of the belongings he and his siblings owned.

Riley opened the driver side door and handed the bag of junk food to his brother Abel. Closing the door again he began to pump the gas into the car. It only took a couple of minutes, but once he was done he hung the gas pump back up and closed the cars gas tank. He slipped back into the car and shut the door behind him. Turning the key into the ignition he shifted the gear into drive, drove out of the gas station parking lot, and back onto the street that would lead him back into the highway.

The seventeen-year-old rubbed at his face with his right hand, while the other gripped the steering wheel as he kept left at the fork and continued on to I-85BL S/US-29 S/US-70 W. He follows the signs for I-85 BUS S/High Point/Charlotte. It had been a quiet drive for the last couple of hours, driving in a silence that was only broken by the music playing from the radio.

He followed the directions that Map Quest was giving him as the sun began to slowly lower. It was getting closer to dusk, but he was getting closer to Hershel's farm and closer to some of his other family. That is what they had become, his second family. The things they had lived through, it had made them stronger and closer. They trudged each other to have one another's back when things got tough. It would be good to see them again.

Riley pulled out to the exit that would lead to the Greene farm and could only watch the road and the familiar landscape blur pass him as he drove the dirt road leading to the Greene Farm. It had been a long time since he'd set foot on the property. He could still recall the day that the herd came through the farm. It was all because of Shane too. If he hadn't fired that gun, they would have likely kept on walking by. The herd never would have come through the farm.

If Shane didn't though, he never would have met his other family members. He wouldn't have had the pleasure of meeting Abraham, Rosita, Tara, Eugene, Noah, Father Gabriel, the Alexandria Safe Zone citizens, Jesus, and so many others. So Riley was thankful for that at least. He couldn't imagine not having them in his life.

The blonde haired young man rolled the car's windows down, allowing the fresh breeze to whip through, leaving the fresh scent of earthy nature, from fresh dew grass to a smell of a farm. It reminded him of the time before he died. How nearly everything was by way of horses, wagons, and walking by then. With the decline of gas resources, they resorted to other means. Riley hoped that Rick was going to listen to his suggestions on a plan for them all. He had so much to tell Rick and inform him about what he had missed following his death.

Riley slowed the car down as he finally came to the Greene Farm and looked up at the farm house. This place had been a safe place, if only for a little while, and now that he was back again, he was looking forward to making it something that would last. He turned the car to the dirt driveway and pulled up until he was parked near the front of the house. He could see figures stepping out from inside, and the sight of some of them brought tears to his eyes. He was closer to having something that had been home to him in a long time.

* * *

**Author Note**: This chapter had been a long process to write. Nearly four months it took me to write and it ended up being eighteen pages. So, I hope everyone enjoys it. The next chapter will be with Rick and the other's at the Greene Farm, with Riley now with them.

In future chapters there will also be other characters that remember, but after those characters, I won't be making anymore remember the "Alternate Timeline", as they have all been calling it. The chapters will also start moving faster, when everyone finally gets in contact with each other and works together to build themselves a safe location (as safe as a place can be after the global outbreak).

I hope you all enjoy this chapter, it took a while with constant changes and altering done to it.

I also apologize for any grammatical errors. I read over it as much as possible, but I'm only human and probably missed something.

Reviews are always appreciated.

**TheWeepingRaven**


	6. Greetings and Remembrance

**Friday, March 5th, 2010**

**The Greene Farm**

Rick followed behind Hershel as the older man walked back up the dirt pathway that led to the porch of the farm house. Lori, Shane, and Carl followed behind Rick, their eyes scanning the beautiful acreages of property that the older man owned. Every one of them recalled how the farmland had been the closest to home and protection they had been able to get since the outbreak started in the alternate timeline. It had been a place for them to rest for a short time, given how much they struggled after the farm, although Shane was dead by that time.

The small group walked up the wooden porch steps, their shoes thumping dully against the wood, and through the front door. The noise of dishware banging and clanging around reached their ears, creating interest in the new arrivals as they looked down the hallway, past the staircase, and to the dark brown single swinging kitchen door at the end. "My wife Annie is making preparations for lunch and dinner." Hershel explained as he led the group to the kitchen.

As they walked through the single swinging kitchen door, they immediately spotted a blonde haired woman standing at the sink. She was washing dishes, a sponge covered in soapy suds in her left hand and a pan in her right. Pots and pans on the stove simmered, crackled, and popped while the oven's timer was counting down. The kitchen had the rich scents of good home cooking that filled the noses of Rick, Shane, Lori, and Carl. It had been a long time since any of them had a real home cooked meal. As none of them were much for cooking or able to do it well. It made their mouths water and stomachs grumble at the delicious smells assaulting their senses.

"Honey, I'd like to introduce you to some friends of mine. They're about as close as family, not being blood related." Hershel explained as he walked across the kitchen and over to his younger wife.

Annette "Annie" Greene nee Jareau shut the sink off and turned to face the small group that appeared in her kitchen. Her sky blue colored eyes glanced over the newcomers with interest. She could immediately tell that the brown haired man, with eyes of a beautiful electric blue, was the leader. He had a quiet sort of inner strength and fortitude that depicted a man who wasn't easily intimidated. It would take a lot to make a man like him submissive. This was the renowned Rick Grimes her husband had told her about. However limited the information had been.

Annie knew her husband hadn't told her everything. They all had a look in their eyes, a look that her brother Louis had when he came back from the Vietnam War. It was the eyes of a soldier who had seen and experienced unspeakable and numerous horrors. Annie wasn't sure if she wanted to know what they had gone through and experienced. Hershel was never one to keep secrets from her, especially regarding those that he considered his family, but the commotion that occurred earlier this morning, was proof to Annie that whatever was going on, it wasn't good. Annie had never seen her youngest daughter so distraught as she was this morning. Whatever her husband and Beth were hiding, she was honestly not sure she wanted to be informed yet.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Annie greeted with a friendly smile. She could sense that these new strangers were good people, if only a little jaded and haunted. The older woman dried her hands off on the towel hanging over her shoulder before she held her hand out for a handshake. "Hershel's talked quite a bit about you this morning, when he mentioned that you were coming here." Annie added as she shook Rick's hand.

"It's nice to meet you as well." Rick replied as he shook Annie Greene's hand. "I'm Rick Grimes," he introduced with a small, but friendly, smile. "This is my wife Lori and our son Carl," the Sheriff Deputy said as he gestured to Lori and Carl when saying their name.

"Hello." Lori greeted with a nod and a firm handshake. "It's really nice to meet you," she said as she looked at the older blonde haired woman. "I heard a lot of wonderful things about you." The few times that Hershel had spoken about Annette in the alternate timeline, he had spoken about how Annette "Annie" Jareau had saved Hershel from his grief and desire to sink into the bottle. She had been a friend of their family, and had been there for him and his children as he tried to cope with the death of his first wife Josephine, who had died in a car accident, only a few weeks after Maggie's birth. Annette had stepped up and helped to take care of his youngest children still living at home.

Of his seven children with Josephine, only four of them had still lived at home at the time of her death. His oldest child Ethan had been twenty-two-years-old and an Army Ranger by that time. His second oldest Alice had been nineteen-years-old and in her Sophomore year of college. His third oldest Jack had been eighteen-years-old and in his Freshman year of college. Hershel's fourth oldest son Arnold was fourteen-years-old and a Freshman in High School. Shawn, his fifth oldest with Josie, had been nine-years-old and in fourth grade. While his sixth oldest child, Lacey, had been five-years-old and in Kindergarten. Without Annette there, Hershel didn't think they would have lasted a month. Annette had been his savior during those rough first couple of years.

"Hi, it's nice to meet you." Carl shook the blonde woman's hand with a small friendly smile. He took an instant liking to Annette. With her kind blue eyes and long blonde hair, she reminded him of Beth, but a wiser and stronger version of his older friend. Beth had only just begun to be that sort of person before she died in the alternate timeline.

"Nice to meet you." Shane said as he shook Annie's hand with a charming smile gracing his lips. The older woman seemed friendly and kind hearted, but still had a spine of steel. It was hard not to take a liking to the older woman.

"Well, I know Hershel said he wanted to talk with you all," Annette began with a fond smile to her husband, "And I don't want to keep you from your talks. I'll be here in the kitchen cooking up lunch and preparing dinner, so if you need anything, just holler," she said with a light southern twang to her voice. It was a rather charming sound and reminded the small group of Maggie.

Hershel smiles at his wife and gives her a quick kiss before they depart from the kitchen and back out the hallway towards the front door. Lori slowed her walk to a stop as the men and her son walked out the front door and towards the picnic table beneath the large oak tree. Their voices intermixed as they discussed ideas and pulled out their cellphones, and a laptop Hershel borrowed from Beth, to begin the process of contacting various companies that would help ensure they were able to create a safe place on the farm.

A sad smile graced Lori's lips as her mind became assaulted with memories of the farm. Her hickory and rich brown eyes, like the earth's soil; stained with the colour of hot chocolate on a cold winter night, consisted of raw emotion that revealed the exact thoughts that were crossing her mind. Her thoughts were lost in that alternate timeline. Of when things had been rough and her determination and tenacity had begun to falter.

It all started after the world went to shit, thinking and believing that Rick was dead, starting a sexual relationship with Shane, then finding out that Rick was actually alive, followed by nearly losing her son, her baby boy. Her little miracle child. It had been so hard for her and Rick to have a child. Any possible pregnancies following Carl had led to three miscarriages, a complete molar pregnancy, and an ectopic pregnancy over the last decade. Those times had been hard on her and Rick. Their fights had become more frequent during the last two failed pregnancies. Lori began to take her hurt, anger, and frustration out on Rick, constantly becoming irritated whenever Rick said or did something. He was an easy outlet to let her anger out on, but it had caused him to shut down and withdraw from her. Lori didn't blame him, she had become someone she didn't recognize.

Lori took a seat on one of the armchairs by the front windows and ran a hand through her hair in stressed remembrance. She still couldn't entirely comprehend what she had been thinking, during the alternate timeline. How she had acted during those months, that wasn't her. Lori had always thought she was a fairly level-headed, compassionate, and reliable individual, but the way she had handled things, it had shown an uglier side of herself that she didn't like.

But Lori wasn't that kind of woman. Well, she thought that she wasn't that type of person. She didn't cheat on her husband, on someone she loved and considered her best friend. Lori had been completely understanding when Rick's other best friend Sheila had asked him if he would be the sperm donor for her and her partner Olivia. Lori had been the one to talk Rick into accepting Sheila's request. Who was she to deny another the ability to have a child, especially such wonderful people like Sheila and Olivia?

And yet, Lori had nearly done that exact same thing to Rick in that other time. She had nearly killed her and Rick's baby. A second child that they had tried so hard to have, and when they finally had, the world had gone to hell and the fear of bringing a child into that world had left Lori feeling helpless and petrified. What kind of mother was she to consider killing her children, instead of giving them a fighting chance? She had nearly considered letting Carl die when he had been injured and had nearly killed her baby before it even had a choice.

This time, it would be different. Lori knew that she wasn't going to let herself fold back into that mold. She was going to be the mother that her children needed. She was going to make contributions in their group. She was going to protect her family, and she was going to live for them. This time it would be different. Nodding to herself, Lori stood and walked out the front door and down the porch steps. Her hand gently cradled her stomach for a moment, as she considered whether she was pregnant already with her and Rick's second little miracle.

**Noon**

Rick looked down at the map of Senoia, Georgia. It depicted the various farms that surrounded Hershel's own property, as well as the town. Hershel's suggestion on getting the owners of the surrounding farms informed on what they were doing, had some merit. However, the considerable scale that this sort of expansion would create to their plans, had the leader of their unconventional family mentally calculating the price.

"Do you think your neighbors would go for it?" Shane asked with a raised eyebrow as he too looked down at the map. There were still quite a few issues that Shane knew he was going to have to talk with Hershel about. How he had acted in the Alternate Timeline was the primary factor. His jealousy had been taken to extreme levels once Rick had come back. He hadn't been jealous of Rick being with Lori, but that Lori had Rick in the first place. The two have been best friends since they were kids, just starting the 5th grade Shane had been the new boy in town, and he and Rick had instantly clicked when they met. The short relationship, if you could truly call it that, that they had from Sophomore year of high school up until Rick was introduced to Lori by Jeremy, left Shane realizing that what he had felt for the other man, was something he had never felt for anyone else. He's tried. God has he tried, but every relationship had ended before it could truly begin, due to his comparing his dates to Rick. While it may not have been verbally, it was a constant mental dialogue that never stopped.

"If we discussed it with them, I believe we could have them agreeing to this." Hershel replied with a slow nod of his head. His intelligent and kind light blue eyes glanced over at Rick, who was quiet and staring down at the map that covered the picnic table, held down by some rocks in the four corners. "The people in this community know me to be honest and trustworthy. If we explain it to them, especially with Rick with me, I'm sure we will have them amenable," he added with a chuckle.

Shane and Carl smirked and nodded in agreement. Rick chuckled at Hershel's assessment and glanced up from the map. He knew what Hershel was implying. He knew he had a way with words and a habit of making speeches that had people often agreeing with him. He just hoped that Hershel's neighbors, which was about seven or so farms, each with considerable acreage, would be willing to believe them, or put faith in them, even if they didn't truly believe what they told them.

Rick sighed and rubbed at the root of his nose as he felt a headache coming on. "Well, the expense for the Zaun's ArmaWeave fence will certainly be a steep price. We've already discussed acquiring additional fencing for any future locations, like Alexandria, the Hilltop, and the Kingdom, maybe even the Sanctuary. Adding these farms to the list won't be too large of a problem." Rick ruminated aloud. His sharp brilliant blue eyes glittered from the bright sunlight as he squinted in thought. "Having all that additional farmland, we'd be able to grow all sorts of crops, as well as have various farm animals."

The group nodded as they considered Rick's words. "Every farm could grow something different." Lori added as she sat beside Carl on the bench. The young boy, and wasn't that still a weird thought as he was eighteen-years-old when he died, leaned against his mother. Lori's arms were wrapped around Carl in a motherly and comforting hold.

"We could grow fruits, vegetables, rice, grains, millet, corn, cotton, and that's just off the top of my head." Carl murmured with wide eyes at the thought. The scale of what they were considering, it was going to be huge. He was honestly looking forward to it. They wouldn't have to struggle as much post outbreak if they had a location that grew most of their food supply. Of course, having additional locations could be a benefit for them as well.

"We could also grow nuts, potatoes, beans, herbs, and a hell of a lot more." Shane pitched in with a small smile beginning to curl his lips upward. "Hell, we can even go looking for other farms after the outbreak and take over them. There's bound to be farms nearing those other locations you mentioned Rick that we could do trading or something like it further down the road."

"The animals will also certainly help with anything dairy or meat wise." Hershel voiced in. He knew at least three of his fellow farmers had dairy and beef cattle, sheep, goats, chickens, pigs, ducks, and geese. Let alone the horses they used to herd the cattle.

Rick nods his head in slow contemplation as he listens to everything that was being said. "You all have good ideas," he begins with a slow curling smile. He's always willing to listen to any input they have. "We'll definitely start searching for farms in the surrounding states. Once we have an idea of their locations, we'll write them down in a notebook so we can go back to them later." Everyone nods in agreement to Rick's statement.

The sound of a truck driving over the dirt road caught their attention. The group turned to see an older model of a silver 2000 Chevy Silverado 2500 truck pulling into the farms front yard. The truck came to a stop beneath the garage carport. It fell silent a few minutes later with both passenger and driver side door swinging open. Two very familiar figures hopped out of the truck, catching Rick and Carl's breath and Lori and Shane's attention.

Beth Greene turned away from the truck as she shut the passenger side door, "I'll help you in a minute Maggie," she was saying before the sight of the familiar figures beside her father caught her attention. A bright and joyful smile spread across her lips. "Rick!" She cried out happily as she ran towards him.

Rick quickly moved and caught the young woman, a young teenager once again, into his arms. "Beth!" He breathed out with his own happiness. Tears burned his eyes for a moment, as the happiness clashed with grief and regret. The last time he had seen her, they had succeeded in saving her from that hospital, only for her to die just a few minutes later. He didn't know what Beth had been thinking, attacking Dawn like she had. The other older woman had reflexively pulled the trigger and killed Beth in the process. Following Beth's death, it had left a continuously developing gaping wound that would not heal with each new death from someone that they considered family.

"It's so good to see you!" Beth exclaimed as she pulled away from the older man. Tears of her own made her blue eyes glimmer. She had always seen Rick as an older brother. He had stepped into the role of protector easily, and she knew it was because he was an older brother, having two younger siblings himself. Beth had always been fond of Rick. He was kind and protective, making it easy to care and love Rick as family. She was thrilled to see him again, especially after their last unfortunate meeting.

"Carl!" She exclaimed joyously as she noticed Carl standing off to the side. The blonde quickly pulled the younger boy into a hug. Beth, as the youngest in her family, had always been treated as the baby. Having ten older siblings, and each of them successful in a sense, had left her feeling like she had to reach these expectations. But having Carl around, it was like she had a younger brother, someone who she could depend on and talk to about everything. He had been her best friend and she was glad for it.

"Beth!" Carl greeted buoyantly. He had truly missed Beth. She had been his best friend and a sibling that he didn't have with his cousins and wouldn't have with Judith for a while. Was Judith still going to be born? Carl wondered as he hugged Beth and then pulled away. "I'm glad to see you again," he stated as he smiled at her. It had been a bitter pill to swallow when she died. They had saved her, only for her to die before they even left that hospital.

"Lori! Shane!" Beth greeted with a smile as she pulled the two into a quick hug. While she hadn't necessarily been close to Shane or Lori, it was still thrilling to see other's from that alternate timeline who remembered everything they had gone through. "It's great to see you!" For a while she had thought perhaps it had been all a horrible nightmare, until her father had said he remembered, and informed her that Rick and a few others had also remembered as well. She wondered if anyone else from the old group remembered? Did Glenn remember? She mused to herself as she glanced over at Maggie as she spoke with their father.

**Evening**

He was going to lose his goddamn mind if he didn't get out of this car soon. Riley really needed to take a break from his younger brother's and son. Abel and Thomas keep fighting between each other, continuously nit picking at each other to the point that Riley was ready to pull over and let the little shitheads walk. But he couldn't do it, he wouldn't do it. He hadn't realized just how much he had truly missed his brother's until he had awoken with memories of that alternate timeline. The way he had lost his brother's in that timeline, it made his stomach turn and his fingers curl tightly around the steering wheel as he fought the urge to punch something.

Riley couldn't lose his shit. His three younger brothers depended on him to be a level-headed presence. To be the father and mother they no longer had. His son needed him to be his parent, to take the role of both, since he had lost his mother without a chance to truly know her at all. Ruthie depended on him to be there for her and their kid in the coming months. His best friend Billy needed him to be a shoulder to lean on when he needed a listening ear and someone to tell things to, that he couldn't with his mother, step-father, or older brother's.

Carl depended on him, he knew, even though they hadn't spoken as much as they both had wanted. He could hear it in his voice, that he was holding onto his emotions by a thin thread. Then there was Rick, who Riley knew instinctively that the older man wanted to know what had happened after he had died. Rick depended on Riley to help him prepare for what was to come. There was so much to deal with. He knew he had to keep his shit together.

He could feel that the weight was lying heavy on his shoulders. He would take the burden, if it meant that everyone he loved and cared about was alright. He had always done what was needed, when it really came down to it. Riley would continue to do so, if it meant keeping them happy, safe, and alive. With a sigh, he flicked the turn signal on and pulled off the interstate and onto the road that would lead them to Hershel's farm. A small smile graced his lips at the thought. It would truly be a joy to see the Greene family again. Especially when he got to see Rick, Carl, Lori and Shane, who he considered to be his family.

Bright green eyes raised to the rearview mirror to check on the youngest children in the car. Harry's head was hanging forward as he slept in his sleep. That didn't look comfortable and had him wincing in sympathy at the pain it had to cause Harry. Then again, children did sleep in the oddest places with little discomfort or pain. "Abel," he said his younger brother's name to get his attention.

"Yeah Ri?" Abel asked. He stopped his bickering with Thomas to focus his attention on Riley.

"Get Harry into a more comfortable position please," he ordered as he turned his attention back onto the road.

Abel turned in his seat and winced at the sight of Harry's head resting against his chest. "Dude, how does he always sleep like that?" He muttered to himself as he unbuckled his seatbelt and leaned into the backseat. He grabbed the small pillow that had fallen onto the car's floor and rested it against his nephew's car-seat. Eli was happily sucking on his pacifier as his wide blue eyes, the color of his mother Tristen's, gazed up at Abel. "Hey buddy," he murmured to his nephew as he finished adjusting Harry's sleeping position. Harry was now leaning his head against the pillow as he slept peacefully.

Thomas purposefully ignored Abel as he concentrated on the Gameboy he was playing. Abel chuckled at his younger brother's stubbornness and sat back down in the front passenger seat while buckling up. He picked up his cell-phone again and went back to texting his friends in California. He hated that Riley had moved them away from their hometown, but he also understood that Riley hadn't told him everything that had happened back home.

Abel knew that there had been a lot that was going on during that time. He and his younger brother's, before their mother's death, hadn't been able to see her. Abel recalled one time Riley had brought them to the park and their mother had been there. The reunion was joyous, but he and Thomas had been quickly told to go play by Riley. Harry had remained behind in their mother's arms. His mom and Riley had not been happy at the reunion. Rather, the pair had been having a serious discussion with frowns and paperwork had been placed between them. Riley and their mom had signed a lot of papers, he remembered. He still wondered what those papers had meant.

Abel could still vividly recall when they had to say goodbye. He has been upset and angry that they had to leave. Thomas had been crying and pouting as he also didn't want to leave his mother. Their mother had not given into his and his brother's fits. Instead, he could recollect on how she had held him and his younger brother's in her arms in a warm and loving hug. How she had kissed them goodbye on their foreheads and told them how much she loved them with tears in her pretty brown eyes. Abel remembered watching as their mother had hugged Riley goodbye. She had held him in her arms for a long time and when she pulled away she had given him a kiss on his forehead too. He remembered hearing her tell Riley that she loved him and was proud of the man he was becoming. That he was a wonderful big brother and he would be an amazing father.

They had walked away that day with sadness and wondering when they would be able to see their mother again. It was only a few weeks later that his big brother had sat him and Thomas down and explained that their mother was dead. Even as gently as Riley had told them, they hadn't taken it well. For the seven months following their mother's death, things had changed. Life at home was different. Riley had taken responsibility over him, Thomas, and Harry. Then Tristen had gone into labor and died giving birth to his nephew Elias. Not even a week later, Riley was telling him and his brother's about their grandmother Gemma's death, and then their own father's death three days later.

Abel didn't know how Riley had pulled it all off. He was burying three family members that October. He had arranged for their cremations, just as he had their mother, of their grandmother, father, and Tristen. Riley had to deal with the last will and testament of all three of their family too, while being a new father to Eli. Abel had a lot of respect for his older brother. Riley had always had a lot of responsibility on his shoulders and he always seemed to handle it easily.

**A Few Hours Later**

The rumble of the car driving down the dirt driveway of the Greene family farm caught the attention of those sitting around the house. The open windows allowed for a fresh breeze, untainted by the smells of death and decay, and for those that remembered the alternate timeline, enjoyed the opportunity immensely.

Carl, Rick, and Shane sat on the picnic table beneath the large oak tree. Each of them were enjoying the evening breeze that depicted spring. The rustling of leaves from the large oak tree and the scent of fresh grass and blooming flowers relaxed them. The three were talking about various inconsequential things, the unspoken issues they had to speak of weren't going to be touched at the moment. Too many things needed to be said, and none of them desired to speak of more serious issues. They enjoyed the company of each other, as best friends, uncle and nephew, and father and son. Something that they hadn't truly been able to have for many years, by their alternate timeline memories.

Lori sat on the porch swing with Beth, while Maggie sat on the porch banister. Lori and Beth were reacquainting with each other, while Maggie was just beginning to get to know Lori and get used to the difference in her youngest sister. It was comfortable between them all, as they discussed Beth's boyfriend Jimmy. Maggie didn't truly believe that Beth was dating Jimmy. She has seen the looks shared between Beth and their daddy's new farmhand Elijah 'Eli' Bray. She had also caught Jimmy, Beth's supposed boyfriend, spending an awful lot of time with Kamilla, one of their neighbors' oldest daughters. Maggie kept her opinion and knowledge to herself. She was enjoying the relaxing atmosphere between her and her youngest sister. There was no tension or irritation between her and Beth. They were all just enjoying the evening. It had been a long time since they were able to do something like that without fighting.

Inside the house was Hershel and Annie as the couple was finishing the dinner preparations. The sounds of the dishware used to cook the food was being cleaned and dried before put away into its correct place. They finished setting everything out on the dining room table before making their way out onto the porch. They all watched as the car, pulling a trailer behind it, came to a stop.

A familiar voice to Rick, Hershel, Lori, Shane, Carl, and Beth caused smiles to grace each of their faces. "I swear to fucking Christ, if you two shitheads don't knock the goddamn taunts and bickering off, I'll make you both sleep in the barn." Riley threatened as he stepped out of the driver side of the car. He leaned forward back into the car and pulled his front seat up. He gently pulled Harry, who was only just stirring awake from his nap, into his arms. With his other hand, he pulled Eli's detachable car-seat out.

"Well if Tommy boy wasn't such a -" Abel began in the typical preteen attitude that all pubescent boys and girls went through.

"If you weren't such a di -." Thomas began at the same time with a glare at his second older brother.

Riley honestly didn't like most teenagers. Preteens and teenagers were all little shitheads with attitudes. He tolerated most kids if he was being honest with himself, but he did like many of them. As a teenager himself, he had always been more mature than most his age, because of all the bullshit he's been through in his life. All the responsibility that had been thrown at him had made him different than most guys his age. Of course, there were times he fucked up like most teenagers. Elias had been an obvious fuck up, but he loved his kid, even if he hadn't honestly been sure what to do with him after his mother's death. Now with his alternate timeline memories, he was even more different from his age group.

"What'd I just fuckin' say shitheads?"

Abel scoffed and rolled his eyes at his older brother, having no fear of retribution from his big brother. Abel knew that Riley could beat the shit out of him if he wanted to. Riley has beaten the shit out of him once or twice, not out of any desire to truly hurt him, but because he was a little shithead, as Riley commonly called him and his younger brother's. However, with Riley's arms full with Harry and Eli's car-seat, Abel felt assured that Riley couldn't hit him.

Thomas grumbled under his breath and crossed his arms over his chest in a sulk. He was always being told what to do by Riley. Ever since their mom and dad died, Riley had become the full time parent. Riley had taken care of him and their brother's before their parents died, but it was different now. Thomas couldn't go to his mom to cuddle with and watch a movie. He couldn't go to his dad and sit on his motorcycle as he worked on one of the cars in the garage. He couldn't do any of that stuff anymore. He didn't have parents that would care how he was feeling. Thomas looked down at the ground as he bit his lip, fighting to contain the tears that had sprung up in his eyes as grief settled heavy in his chest.

"You can keep them, if you want." Riley stated to the watching group as he walked around the front of the car with a smile. "I won't mind," he added jokingly. Bright green eyes glanced over to see Abel slowly following him and Thomas curling into himself. The teenager, and wasn't that something to get used to again?, sighed sadly and heavily at the sight. It was a very familiar common occurrence, since Thomas finally began to understand their parents weren't coming back. Whenever Thomas started thinking about their mom and dad, he retreated into himself and withdrew from everyone, becoming consumed by his grief. "Abel," he warned with a quick look to Thomas.

Abel glanced over at Riley and followed his gaze. The preteen sighed like his older brother had. "Come on dorkus," he ordered as he wrapped his arm around Thomas' shoulder and pulled him into his side. The older boy dragged the seven-year-old along with him as Riley led them towards a group of people they had never met before, or heard of, until this morning.

"It's good to see you Rick." Riley greeted as he set the car-seat down on the picnic table that Rick, Shane, and Carl were standing around.

"It's really good to see you too." Rick replied as he pulled the younger teenager into his arms. The hug between the two was much like how family greeted each other. It was full of warmth and familial love. The Sheriff Deputy pulled away and looked Riley over. The blonde haired man looked tired. The deep and dark crescent moons beneath his eyes were in shades of deep purple and blues. He didn't bring attention to the fact. He knew how much Riley hated attention focused on him. "Is that Harry?" Rick asked rhetorically. The last time he had seen the boy, he had been eleven-years-old.

Harry blinked tiredly over at Rick and shyly did his face into his brother's neck. Rick smiled in amusement at the cuteness of it. He had forgotten how shy Harry could be with strangers. Harry as a preteen had been sweet, brave, and selfless and best friends with Ezekiel's adopted son Henry. The two together tended to be little rebels and were always seen hanging out together.

"It's amazing to see you again Lori," Riley embraced her in a hug when the older woman finally reached their small group.

"It's a wonderful surprise to see you again Riley," Lori hugged the young man with a smile. "Is that little Harry?" She asked as she gently reached out for the boy. "Hi there sweetheart," she murmured as she held the three-year-old in her arms. "My name is Lori, what's your name?" She questioned softly.

"Harry," the small boy whispered shyly as he gave the kind brown haired woman a cute smile. Lori inwardly melted at the sight. She had missed being able to hold the sweet child in her arms. It felt like it had been too long since she had seen him. He had been five-years-old that last time.

"Hey Shane, it's absolutely awful to see you again," Riley teased with a smirk. Their relationship was a lot like how it had been for him with the men in SAMCRO. The two would constantly give each other shit, but they did love each other as family. The younger blonde gave Shane a manly hug, with his arm around his shoulder as they slapped each other's back.

"It's completely terrible to see you too kid," he smirked with amusement clearly shining in his dark eyes. Riley was like another family member to Shane. He had respect for the younger man, who had done whatever he could to protect and help their group.

"Riley!" Carl cried out happily as he tackled Riley into a hug with shining blue eyes. Riley loved his blue eyes. They are not an ordinary sky blue, or the color of ice in an ocean, or even the little flowers that spring up by the side of the road. His eyes are blue like the sea, crystal clear blue that could be shimmering, crashing, and churning like waves out in sea. Every time he looked into Carl's eyes, Riley was reminded of hearing the waves falling against the shore, seeing the foam flying into the air, and the seagulls cawing overhead. His eyes were blue like the sky right before the sun descends into the horizon and the moon rises - a rich indigo, with specks of wild colors throughout. His eyes were blue like that warm wool sweater his mother loved to wear in the chilly winter months. Carl's blue eyes are his favorite sort of blue.

"Carl," Riley grunted breathlessly as the younger slammed his weight into him. Carl's arms swiftly wrapped around his chest in a tight hold. "I'm glad to see you too, Blue Eyes," he drawled with his own arms circled around the younger's shoulders.

_This will be fun _, Abel thought sarcastically. He had noticed the difference in his brother, and he could see it now as he hugged the boy that looked like he was about his age, if not a little younger or older. There was jealousy for a moment, at how casually he acted with them.

Riley hugged Beth with his right arm as she greeted the older teenager. "Hey Bethy," the older blonde greeted with a smile. Beth was like a younger sister he never had. She had been a confidante for him, just as he had been a confidant for her.

"Riley, I'm really happy to see you." Beth sighed with a smile as she leaned her weight against his right side while Carl took Riley's left side in comfort.

The blonde turned his attention to where Hershel stood next to Annie Greene, someone who Riley recognized from a picture Beth had shown him in the alternate timeline. "Hey Old Man," he said affectionately. Hershel Greene had been like a grandfather to Riley. He was someone that Riley had come to trust and he had been a bit of a mentor to him.

"It's good to see you again Riley," Hershel replied with warmth in his voice. "This is my wife Annie and my older daughter Maggie," he introduced the two to the newcomers.

Rick had taken Elias from his car-seat and was now holding the six-month-old in his arms. "Hey little man," he was murmuring to the baby as Eli had spat out his pacifier moments before and was currently making babbling noises that most sixth month old babies did. Rick entertained the baby by making appropriate noises and sounds that thrilled little Elias at the attention he was receiving from someone new.

"Abel and Thomas," Riley called to his younger brother's. He gently stepped out of the hold Beth and Carl had around him and pulled his two younger brother's over to him. "We're going to be staying with these nice people for a couple of days." That was the plan anyways. They still had to go to school, Carl, Abel, and Thomas, and Riley had graduated already. He figured that when Rick and Lori went back to Kings County, he'd go with them. He had plans in mind that consisted of SAMCRO, but first he had to talk to Rick and Lori. "These two," he gestured to Beth and Carl who had been standing near him, "are Beth Greene and Carl Grimes. I think you'll find them to be good friends Abel, if you give them a chance."

"Over there," he gestured to Rick and Lori, who both held Elias and Harry respectively as they spoke to each other, "Are Rick and Lori Grimes, Carl's parents. Beside them," he gestured to Shane who was currently playing Peekaboo with Eli, who was giggling hysterically. Eli wasn't very shy around strangers, Riley had noticed, not like he had assumed most sixth months old are. "Is Shane Walsh, Rick's partner on the force and best friend." Riley finally waved his hand towards the last three adults in the group. "The older man is Hershel Greene, with his wife Annie and one of their other daughters Maggie." The trio was discussing something in regards to the farm.

Abel tried to wrap his mind around the new strangers that his brother was introducing him to. Their parents had not known these people, so how did Riley know them? "How do you know all these people Ri?" He asked with furrowed eyebrows.

"That's another story, something that myself and the others will tell you about later." Riley promised. He didn't plan on keeping the story from his brother's. He would tell them the truth and soon.

Annette Greene brought the attention of the group to her when she spoke. "Supper just finished cooking, so I hope y'all have an appetite." The thought of eating a home cooked meal had everyone following the Greene's back into their home.

Abel's stomach grumbled at the smells that assaulted his nose when he stepped into the front entryway of the farm house. Abel followed the group down the hall to the right of the staircase that led to a large dining room. It had been a while since he had eaten anything that smelt as good as what was on the dining room table. Riley could cook, but he usually didn't have the time, not with raising him and his younger brothers, as well as Elias, while also working constantly. It really made Abel miss his mom at times like these. His mom and grandma had been awesome cooks.

**Night**

For the first time in eight years, Rick was feeling very minimal amounts of stress, worry, anxiety, and frustration. They had all discussed plans and tossed out ideas between each other over dinner. Everyone had come up with insightful suggestions that Rick hadn't even considered. They had also successfully gotten in contact with Zaun Ltd. about their ArmaWeave Mesh high security fencing and was able to order an extremely large shipment of the fencing for the next three months, until just a week before the outbreak was to occur. They had contacted construction companies, solar panel companies, and various other companies, while also researching store locations and farms that would help them begin to create a safe place to survive.

Rick sat upon the canopy swing that was on the front porch of Hershel's farm house in a content silence. A smile spread across his lips at the sounds of soft laughter and quiet voices coming from the inside of the house. The warm golden glow of lamps stretched out from inside the house and encased the porch with a dim glow. He used his right foot to gently swing, his head tilted back as he enjoyed the fresh evening breeze as it blew past him, gently and playfully ruffling his clothes and hair.

Rick didn't move at the sound of booted feet walking across the porch before they came to a stop and took a seat on the other side of the swing. After a few minutes of silence, Rick finally moved his head and turned to see the seventeen-year-old figure of Riley. The last time he had seen Riley, Rick had been dying after destroying that bridge. The older man straightened in his seat, brilliant blue eyes looked into tired, haunted, and desolate bright emerald green eyes. They were aged even more from the last time he had seen Riley, a young man of only twenty-five-years-old.

It was nearing past midnight. Riley had put Elias, Harry, and Thomas to bed after dinner at eight. Abel would be bunking with Carl, and was once again finding a friend in him. Currently, only Hershel, Lori, Shane, Beth, and Carl remained awake. Annette and Maggie had turned in already, after a long day of working on the farm. Abel had crashed as well, having had trouble sleeping most nights from nightmares, a constant for the younger boy, having experienced losing four people he loved within a seven month time period.

"What happened after…" Rick trailed off, unsure how to proceed with his question.

"After you died?" Riley rhetorically asked. His voice was bleak and dry. Full of unspoken horrors he had endured after losing Rick. His timbre of voice was a tone that Rick had rarely ever heard the younger man use. "A lot of things happened Rick," he said with a bitter twist of his mouth. His green eyes showed a dark and gruesome story that only he knew.

"We struggled for a bit, trying to figure out how to trade with each other, considering the distance between the communities," Riley explained with a small sigh. "We were able to start something, but it was different, the knowledge that you were gone, that a lot of our family had died over the years," his words were quietly spoken. He didn't want to disturb the peace that had settled over the farm momentarily. They had discussed their plans and Rick had spoken about searching for others of their group that might hopefully remember.

"Daryl…" At the sound of his partner's name being spoken, Rick's chest tightened and his breath caught in his throat. When he had awoken to the realization that he was back before it all began, it had made him wonder what had happened to everyone else, following after his death at the bridge. He had feared thinking about his best friend and partner and what could have possibly happened to him.

"He lost himself to his grief, for a long time," Riley's green eyes had a thin sheen of tears over them, making them glimmer like stars in a night sky. He stared out at the open acreage ahead of them, lost in his memories. Daryl had never been the same after losing Rick. He had still cared and helped out when he could, but a part of Daryl had broken following Rick's death. He had left them for a long time as he attempted to overcome his grief and heartache.

"He left not long after your death. He moved out to the woods in a cabin he had found, with his dog. He tried to find peace for himself, after your death," the younger man explained. "But it didn't work like we had thought. He was different. Daryl still cared and was still there when we needed him, but a part of him was broken after losing you. He pushed a lot of people away. Only myself, Carol, Michonne, Maggie, and the kids weren't deterred."

Rick frowned as he rubbed his face. His heart ached at the thought. He would never assume that Daryl would have just moved on from losing him, but Rick had hoped that he would have been able to manage and that it would be a little easier for him, as the years past, to be happy. A frown curled his lips down at the thought that his hunter, his husband, had been unable to find a little bit of happiness without him there.

"Things continued on following your death. We prospered and grew as communities. Things were particularly good," he paused before correcting himself, "as good as it could be in a hellish overrun world of Walkers, the rest of the year. That first year following your death, a group came seeking refuge. They had heard about a Safe-Zone, a place willing to provide a safe place to live. I recognized some of the people in that group. My best friend, Billy, had been surviving with his partner Steve and a few others, until they came across the group that had the older brother of an old girlfriend of mine in that timeline, and this one. Her name is Ruthie. She was, and is currently, pregnant. When the outbreak happened in that alternate timeline, I ended up losing contact with her. Her older brother Simon, he told me how Ruthie had died just a few months before they reached the Safe-Zone. She died protecting our daughter, Layla," he explained to Rick.

"After letting this group into the Safe-Zone, it seemed to ignite the meeting of various other groups. Over the next five years, we were confronted by these other so called communities. While still trying to continue to build our own territories. One of these groups called themselves The Hunters, they were cannibals and enjoyed hunting to get their meat." There was no need to further explain that. Riley knew Rick understood. The disgusted expression on the older man's face said it all. "They had taken some of our people, when they were on a run," he began to say, "When we hadn't heard back from them in over six hours. Standard check-ins were every four hours so we went looking. And that's when we discovered the Hunters. We found the remains of some Nomads," at Rick's confused expression, Riley further clarified, "It's what we started calling people that aren't a part of a group." Rick nodded in understanding.

"We finally found the Hunters encampment. We came up with a plan and snuck inside. It was a warehouse, a lot like Terminus, but worse." It was clear to Rick that Riley wasn't present anymore, his mind was lost in the horrors of the building he had found with his group for a search and rescue. "It was like a goddamn horror movie. Rooms full of instruments to torture their victims, fucking torture chambers it seemed like. Every room had a different horror to show. We took out the Hunters we found and saved their victims. We finally found our people, locked in cages like fucking animals," he sneered with a darkness in his unseeing eyes. "The people we saved, not just our people, we brought back to our communities. Questioned them and made sure they weren't a part of another group."

_Simple ending for a not so simple group _, Rick thought to himself. It still horrified him how people could turn so inhumane in an already merciless world. _Just because the world ended _, he thought, _didn't mean humanity had to end with it _. They were people still, why couldn't they continue having a society? Why couldn't they all work together to survive, rather than killing each other and fighting each other for what the other had?

"About, I wanna say thirteen months later?, a group calling themselves The Marauders, made their appearance. They were a small group of bandits that robbed other communities." The Marauders had been one of the easiest groups that they had to deal with. "We handled them by talking to them, telling them they didn't have to steal to survive. They could work together with the other communities in trading, otherwise we would use force to put a stop to the trouble they were causing."

"Then there was the Living, as they called themselves. They were a larger group that consisted of very bad men. Those same men that we dealt with at that bar in Senoia." He still remembered that confrontation with Randall and his group. The questions they had regarding if there were any women with them. He and Rick had instantly known what they were truly asking. Growing up in a motorcycle Club like Sam Crow, and Rick as a Sheriff Deputy, they had seen what depravity did to a man. They took what they wanted for the sake of their own pleasure.

"It didn't take the other communities long to agree that the Living was a danger to the prosperity we were creating within our communities. Especially after they kidnapped some of the females from the Hilltop, the Kingdom, the Safe-Zone, and the Sanctuary." He didn't want to think about or mention what had been done to those women. Vomit burned at the back of his throat as he forcefully swallowed it back down and forced those vile memories away. He didn't want to think about it.

"We eliminated that group and saved the women the Living men had forced into slavery, mainly of the sexual varity." Rick wasn't sure how he felt learning about the group of men they had come across in Senoia, had been bigger and worse than he and Riley had initially assumed. He was relieved to hear they had been dealt with, before they could cause any further harm.

"Then there was the Scorpions, a group that kept to themselves but attacked if they felt provoked. We didn't have too much trouble with them." Riley was honestly surprised that this group had been the ones to cause the least amount of trouble for the communities. The Scorpions leader had agreed to a meeting with the other leaders of the communities. It was a general understanding for everyone that the Scorpions wouldn't cause trouble for them, as long as they were left alone. They had all kept their word and so had been put out of mind.

"One of the last groups we met was The Highwaymen. They were originally a hostile group of survivors," he began to describe as he adjusted his position on the swing. "They were a rough and aggressive, but not an unreasonable group of 22 survivors." Riley mused aloud as Rick listened intently to what he was saying. "They would stalk roads and prey upon travelers, robbing them and extorting the communities that used _their _roads," he enunciated with a sigh, "despite being thieves and extortionists, the Highwaymen seemed to prefer to conduct their business peacefully. They normally sent letters with a list of demands rather than trying to obtain supplies through brute force."

"The community leaders, myself being included as a leader, got together and decided to meet with the Highwaymen and see if we could come to an agreement with them. It took a while, but they finally agreed to put their outlaw ways aside and start protecting the roads leading to various communities in exchange for having access to the fair, where they can sell their stolen supplies." Riley reached into his leather jacket pocket and pulled out his cigarette and zippo lighter. Pulling one of them out, he set it between his lips and casually flipped the flame and lit the smoke. He inhaled deeply before breathing the smoke out through his mouth. He leaned his head back against the back of the swing's bench.

"This deal had worked for everyone. Especially once others learned of these protectors and requested permission to join them in protecting the roads. After a while, the Highwaymen became bigger and greater. They were protectors of the roads. They guarded the roads from the Safe-Zone, the Hilltop, the Kingdom, and the Sanctuary, and it worked."

Rick listened intently to everything he was being told. It was smart, having a group that was utilized to protect the roads that they used the most. His bright blue eyes remained focused on Riley as the younger man continued to speak. "Anyways, that first year after your death, I had been designated as the leader of Alexandria. Michonne gave birth to a son," Rick seemed to stop breathing at his announcement. He had never known that Michonne was pregnant, following that night they had slept together.

"Michonne wanted to focus her attention on raising RJ and Judith, and she was an amazing mother. While raising those two, she also helped me raise Harry, Elias, and Layla, and I helped her with RJ and Judith. She and I were the only parental figures those two kids really had left. She was the mother that they needed," Riley didn't turn to look at Rick as he spoke. But he could feel those blue eyes burning into him. It would be too difficult to continue speaking if he looked at the older man. "I was the father figure that Harry, Elias, Layla, Judith, and RJ needed." He had always been someone that was needed in some manner, following Rick's death. He had stepped up in their community and also become a leader they had needed and wanted.

"Thank you." Rick whispered after Riley's pause. "I'm glad that Michonne had you in here corner to help raise Judith and RJ." If there was anyone Rick would have trusted to raise his children, it would have been Riley. The younger man had a good head on his shoulders and he was family. He loved deeply and passionately. Those he loved became his and he would do whatever was needed to keep them safe. Those kids were in good hands, Rick knew this deep in his bones.

Riley looked over at Rick, a small smile curling his lips upward as he merely nodded in reply. He didn't need the thanks. He had done it because it was the right thing to do. "Maggie went off to work with Georgie," Rick looked curious at this unfamiliar name, "She was this woman that came around and helped us out in exchange for music." Riley gave a vague description from the woman Georgie, as he himself barely knew her. "Maggie left not too long after you died. She went to help build a new community with her son Hershel," he paused as he considered the next few people to mention. "Carol married Ezekiel and became Henry's adoptive mother," he went quiet for a long moment. His mind lost on past pain before he continued to speak again.

"Negan remained in that jail for another three years following your death. But was rehabilitated in the end." Here, Riley hesitated in continuing to speak. How did he explain to Rick that Negan, Riley's maternal grandfather, had developed feelings for the man? It had been somewhat obvious, now that he thought back on it, that Negan had been attracted to Rick and he showed it by pulling Rick's metaphorical pigtails. "I mainly dealt with him because no one else wanted to...but he was _different _," Riley hesitates to say, "following your death. It hit him hard, learning that you had died saving us all."

Rick remained silent, his bright blue eyes once still focused on Riley as the other man continued to explain things he had missed after dying. "Negan became an important fixture within the community. The kids adored him, loved to hear stories from Before," a fond smile graced Riley's lips at those particular memories flashed across his mind, "He became someone I trusted, somewhat," he explained. "I never forgave him for the things he had done as the leader of the Saviors. There were a lot of arguments between him and I about whether or not he could have made the Sanctuary an actual sanctuary and not a tyrannically ruled community."

Rick chuckled at Riley's word. "I bet he took that really well," he laughed with a smirk.

Riley huffed a tired laugh and tilted his head towards Rick in pointed agreement. "Lots of raised voices between us during those times," he agreed. "Negan may have changed for the better, but he was still an arrogant asshole and so _Negan _," and didn't that explain it? Negan was Negan. Especially with all his Neganisms. While he did become a better man after his time in confinement, it hadn't changed the essence of the man.

"I don't know if you knew or not, I can only assume that maybe you remained purposely oblivious, but Negan was attracted to you. Hell, maybe even a little bit in love with you. Who really knows?" He rhetorically asked with a shrug of his shoulders. "But after your death he told stories about you to the kids and anyone who might want to listen. Of course, he asked for information about you too and I didn't think it could hurt any to tell him. I mean, you were dead. He couldn't really use this information to hurt us. He seemed to appreciate the story of your ripping that one assholes throat out with your teeth." Riley laughed with a shake of his head. Trust Negan to get his kicks at Rick being ruthless.

Contrary to the belief of most people, Rick wasn't oblivious to the sexual and romantic interest that other's felt towards him. He had known that Negan was intrigued with him. Perhaps not at the beginning, but at some point Rick had noticed the looks and way the other man acted towards him had become flirtatious. It was probably another reason Daryl had disliked, if not outright hated, Negan.

"Anyways, the stories that were told about you and the way that others remembered you by, you became remembered as the person responsible for uniting everyone and for inspiring communities to change the world for the better and for the future of civilization," he said this casually, like he wasn't dropping on Rick this scad of information.

Rick leaned back into the swing with stunned surprise when he was told he had been remembered. He had been remembered? He had been known as the one to unit everyone and inspire communities? Tears burned his eyes as a smile curled across his lips at the thought. He was amazed that they would consider him someone to be remembered by. He felt honored and humbled by that notion.

Riley smiled at Rick and his shock. He was pretty sure Rick wasn't surprised about the news regarding Negan liking Rick, rather he was shocked that he had been remembered. He reached out with his hand and squeezed the older man's shoulder. "In honor of your decisions since the start of the apocalypse, a statue was built in your homage and your story inspired future generations," he continued with a grin. Rick Grimes had been a name that was remembered years after his death, and for good reason. He was a good and honorable man who did what he thought was best for his people.

Riley rubbed his chin as he thought back to what had happened next. "About six months later, we became confronted with a new group." Those quiet words left Rick with a sense of foreboding. There was a heaviness that sat in the pit of his stomach. "They were mysterious at first. We came to learn that these hostile survivors disguised themselves with the skin of Walkers." Riley explained with a thin press of his lips. "They did this to blend in with the Walkers and had turned to their most animalistic roots," he scoffed at the remembered hell they had to endure during their confrontations with the Whisperers. The war had been bloody and worse than the Saviors had ever been.

"Their leader, we would later find out, called herself Alpha. She had a second, named Beta. A hulk of a man that Daryl had difficulties fighting," he said this with a sneer at the thought of Beta. Riley had his own particular issues with Beta that he wasn't going to get into at the moment. Rick found it hard to believe that Daryl had a problem fighting this Beta person. Daryl was one of their best fighters. "Anyways, how we found out about them started off small, with Eugene and Rosita not returning from a scavenging trip. So a small group of us went looking for them. A lot of stuff followed, after we went looking for more information on this new group."

Riley paused as he tried to decide what to tell Rick. "It's too much information at the moment, to tell you all that happened. What you need to know right now, is that we, our communities, decided to do a trade with each other. It was like a swap meet or farmer's market where you traded things instead of buying them." Riley said for Rick's benefit.

"During this trade, twelve of our people were taken by the Whisperers from the Safe-Zone, the Hilltop, the Kingdom and the Sanctuary communities." Here, Riley had to stop speaking. His jaw clenched tightly and his throat tightened as he became lost in the memory of finding those that had been taken. "The Whisperers are savages, they took Tara, Ezekiel's son Henry, Enid, Tammy Rose, Ozzy, Alek, D.J., Frankie, Rodney, Addy..." He knew Rick likely didn't remember or know most of these people, but it needed to be said. But he didn't want to keep talking, he didn't want to list the last two deaths. They still hurt to think about, even if they're alive now. Riley's eyes closed and his hands curled into fist at his knees. He was hunched over with his head tilted downwards in remembered anguish.

"Those _motherfuckers _," he spat out with rage and sorrow thick in his voice, "took my younger brother Harry and my daughter Layla."

"What'd they do to them Riley?" Rick asked in a soft voice full of concern and worry over the stillness of the silence that had fallen between them. The open living room windows showed how quiet those within had become as they listened in on what Riley was saying. Rick could only wonder what must be thinking. How horrified they might be.

There was a fury in those bright green eyes that was being barely contained. "They had decapitated them and put their heads on pikes. Spread them out like a fence to show us where our land ended and theirs began." Rick felt sick. Nausea sat heavy in his stomach as his vivid imagination clearly gave him a mental picture of it.

"I'm so sorry Riley," he murmured with remorse heavy on his tongue. He scooted over and wrapped his arm around the younger man's shoulder. Riley's shoulders shook as he tried to contain the heavy sobs that wanted to be let out. He wouldn't cry though. He wanted to get this over with, so they could concern themselves with the present, rather than what could happen in the future. Riley pushed himself up and wiped at his wet eyes with the palm of his hands.

"Everyone was angry. They wanted revenge for what the Whisperers had done to our people. So we made plans. We got together and decided that one of those plans was to have one of our people infiltrate the Whisperers," Rick could already feel himself tensing at what would be said next. "We decided Negan would be our best bet. He was still an outcast with everyone. He was hardly seen by anyone. He mainly stayed in Alexandria, working in a few select buildings. He would be the perfect one to infiltrate the Whisperers. As many still thought Negan was in jail."

Riley rubbed his face tiredly. "So, we made it off like Negan had escaped. Then, we began to make plans. We watched the Whisperers and targeted key location, camps that they had established. We obliterated those areas. It was a constant back and forth between our communities and the Whisperers. It was a bloody war and a lot of people died and a lot of locations demolished." Here, Riley sighed heavily as he took a drag of his cigarette. The smoke burned his throat, a soothing long forgotten memory, before he exhaled heavily from his mouth in a cloud of white smoke.

"Finally, we received good news. Negan was able to get word that had a plan to execute Alpha, but needed a distraction for Beta and the other Whisperers. So, we set a trap in this warehouse. Did a distraction big enough to attract Alpha's attention and brought the Whisperers and their hordes of Walkers to the warehouse." Riley's heart pounded in his chest as his hands shook with remembered adrenaline and fear. "But the mechanism we used to close the warehouse doors got stuck, and someone had to go in and fix it." He could hear the arguments in his mind, as those with him had argued among each other on who should go. While they were distracted, he had jogged off towards the warehouse.

Riley had paid no mind to the other's yelling after him. To Elias screaming for his father to stop. He hadn't watched as Daryl held him back or how Michonne had embraced Judith to keep her from following him, the only father figure she remembered ever having. Aaron, Eugene, Rosita, Carol, and Billy had only been able to watch with stunned disbelief as he disappeared into the warehouse building. "I quietly slipped into the warehouse and fixed the mechanism, but caught the attention of Beta."

Rick's stomach turned as a heavy stone sat in the pit of his stomach. He knew where this was going. Deep in his bones, he knew what had happened in the end, why Riley was able to remember the alternate timeline. "Beta was huge, but we both were tall and muscular. I was similarly fit like my father had been, and knew how to fight because of training by the men in Sam Crow and from martial art classes I had taken as a kid." That still didn't mean he hadn't taken a hell of a beating by Beta. The two had been vicious. Throwing punches, kicks, and tackles like it was going out of style. They had used various objects at their disposal to beat the shit out of each other.

"At some point I had knocked Beta down. The doors had been securely shut by that time. The other Whisperers were panicking as they tried to get out, attracting the attention of the Walkers." A darkly satisfied smirk curled Riley's lips. "I have to say, it was rewarding, hearing them be ripped apart by the very Walkers they had used as weapons against our communities." Rick could only imagine how gratifying it must have been for him. To a man that had been tormented by this group, who had lost a brother, daughter, family, and friends to those monsters.

"I had just ordered the other's to blow the building up, when Beta tackled me to the floor. He was repeatedly punching me in the face. I couldn't get to push him off, so I reached for a crowbar and bashed him in the head. He fell off me and I could hear the walkie-talkie going off with the other's voices calling for me. I forced myself up off the floor, woozy from blood loss and a concussion, and grabbed it. I told them my goodbyes. Asked them to look after Elias for me and how much I loved them all, and then I ordered them to blow the building. I could see the Walkers surrounding me turn at the smell of my blood and voices. There were too many of them surrounding me, I wouldn't have been able to make it out alive. I knew that I would be eaten where I stood, before I could ever reach the door in time."

Tears blurred Riley and Rick's eyes. Rick felt the grief of how the younger man had sacrificed himself to allow the other's a chance at succeeding in finishing the war with the Whisperers. Riley silently cried, not for himself, but for how he left Elias an orphan. How he had abandoned Judith and RJ with death in an effort to protect them. How he had left his best friend and family behind in such a brutal and abrupt way. He cried for the injustice of it all. "The last thing I remember is hearing Daryl saying goodbye. Beta had just started to stir again when the building went up in flames."

* * *

**Author Note: **It has been a very long time since I updated this story and I do apologize for that. A great many things have happened since the last time, last year, that I updated it. I hope everyone is being safe and wearing those masks!

For such a long wait, this chapter is eighteen, just a little over nineteen pages, and did not turn out the way I expected. I wanted to move it on much further than I had, but the character's were revolting against my plans! I still hope you enjoy it. As it gets a glimpse into some of the characters insights.

Next chapter will jump to the other characters and will definitely move this story along. Things are definitely happening with chapter seven (as I've already been writing it).

Keep in mind with this chapter, that following Rick's death things are AU. Obviously they're already AU with some small things, but it was generally canon up until Rick died. After Rick's death, things diverged. You learn a little more about Riley and about what happened following Rick bleeding out on that bridge.

Anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter! XD

**TheWeepingRaven**


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